A Girl? Not in this Anime!
by Mandarins
Summary: [set during eternal summer] "What is a girl doing at an all boys school?" Sakura only smirked, "Why? Scared I'm going to beat you again?" Shouta pouted while Rin smirked, he could get used to her.
1. Chapter 1

"What? Isn't there anyone who can beat me?" A red-headed Seijuro Mikoshiba exclaimed, proud that even as the almost retired-captain, he still commanded a lead against his team.

What was left of the team was littered across the multiple seats, some even opting to lay on the floor. The appearance of the rival Iwatobi swim club did not cause the confident captain to hesitate. If anything, he held a new vigor at the prospect of having his precious Gou-chan watching him defeat every single person. Filled with friendly competition and hope for the next season, Seijuro reminded himself that this was not a sad day. No, it was just the opening of the door for the next year of Samezuka swimmers.

However, it had to come to an end and a new captain had to be established. Seijuro started, "All of you have really worked hard. Today marks the retirement of us third-years. All of us leave here with no regrets." Messing with the team one last time, he continued, "Your peaceful days won't continue long! This April, a fearsome new face will enter this club! So enjoy your lives while you can."

Taking note of the many mortified faces, Seijuro laughed for a final time before taking a more serious note, "Matsouka!"

"Yes, sir." He replied with a thin-lined frown.

"Starting tomorrow, you are the new captain. Take good care of my team." While the applause should have marked the happy occasion, Rin was anything but pleased.

How was it fair that a transfer student become captain? What if he can't train the others? Samezuka was known to be a powerhouse for swimmers, what if he can't live up to that? These questions flew through his mind in an instant, but one glaringly obvious question soon burned itself into his mind.

Why, of all people, did that Mikoshiba choose him?

 **xxxxxxxx**

"In order to join the swim club, your time needs to be better than the Samezuka standard. We'll time you now, so swim using your fastest stroke." Rin explained to the first-years. However, it was clear that his focus was elsewhere.

From across the pool, Aiichiro Nitori could see his previous roommate deep in thought. It was obvious from the start that the red-head was against being captain. Ai knew of the man's skill in swimming, but being captain was another thing.

Putting on a smile in hopes of cheering up his friend, Ai neared him and asked, "Is something wrong, captain?"

Looking away and placing a sheepish hand on his neck, Rin replied, "Can you not call me that?"

"Huh?"

"Just call me what you did before." Ai nodded in agreement, sad that he was basically in denial over his position as captain.

However, that denial did not last very long. Ai could see a slow shift in Rin's attitude. After scouts began to call, Rin understood the depth of his position. If him or the team were to fail, it would all be a reflection upon himself. And Rin would not allow anything to stand in the way between himself and his dream. The sudden appearance of a certain Yamazaki Sousuke added to this, his childhood best friend helped sober up his reaction.

Rin was slowly accepting that he was the captain. But once he really did, all hell broke loose.

"I said do another five laps!" The new captain commanded Momotarou with a sinister grin, still exacting revenge on the poor first-year for attempting to flirt with his sister.

With a small evil laugh, Rin gazed upon the pool to see if there was anyone else who deserved torment.

Looking over to a sitting Sousuke, Rin was about to order him to do another five laps. But, being his best-friend, he beat him to it.

"No."

"Bitch, I'm the captain." Rin sauntered over with a smirk.

"Still no." Frustrated, the red-head could only snarl before looking back to the other team members. He'll get him back, Rin connived.

Deciding who was competing and in what event, was the true problem for Rin. How was he supposed to judge other people's potential? Enlisting help from Gou, she sent over a list of local tournaments that would help him critique the new members. Trying to focus on the overwhelming stack of papers – he signed up to swim not fill out forms damnit – he ignored Ai's shouts to gain his attention.

Feeling a shake on his shoulder, Rin looked up to Ai pointing behind him. "The dean of the school is here." Sure enough, the dean followed by two other people were on the other side of the pool, approaching the swim team's captain.

"Why is he here?" Sosuke asked discreetly.

"He knows that the school advisor, Mr. Sugimoto, wouldn't be present simply for practice. So he must be here to see us." Ai explained.

Panic slowly filling his insides, Rin could only think of a master list of all the rule-breaking things that he and his team has done before. Cursing in English, he let out a, " _Shit_."

"It's only April, and you boys have already started such rigorous training." The dean started once he was closer to Rin, "What an impressive team you have here." He motioned over to the others around the pool.

"Thank you." Rin replied before bowing his head, a look of worry evident on his face.

The secretary only smiled at the group, trying to ease the obvious tension. Ai returned the smile, albeit with a much smaller one, and gazed over to the other figure draped in a large sweatshirt with the hood over. Before getting a closer look, the dean pulled back focus, out of his train of thought.

"No need for that look," The dean tried to alleviate the conversation, before continuing, "Unless there's something I should know about." He purposefully narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the three one at a time.

Sousuke only looked away while Ai, unable to handle the pressure, sat down next to his captain and kept his face down to the floor. Rin, not one to back down, stared directly back at the dean.

Laughing at their mannerisms, the dean finally decided to explain his appearance. "I hope it's not too late to give you an additional member."

"Try-outs ended last week, but if this guy is that special we might as well have a look at him." Rin skeptically answered, since that would mean redoing a lot of the already surmountable paperwork.

Seeing the reaction, the dean offered. "How about a race?"

"Right now?" Ai asked apprehensively.

However, Rin yelled immediately, "Nakagawa! Get your ass over here." The brunette ran over, not wanting to later face the wrath of his evil captain. "You're racing, right now."

"What? We just got back, I'm not ready—" However, his ails went ignored and he was slowly ushered over to the pool by his captain.

In the lane next to him, a person who he could not recognize plopped in. Hearing the _get ready,_ Shouta attempted to get a closer look, however reminded himself to adjust his goggles. Not having anymore time, the swimmer simply dealt with not knowing a single damn thing about his opponent. Arranging himself into the starting backstroke position, Shouta only hoped that this strange person was not a great swimmer.

Hearing the opening beep, Shouta set off quickly. Whoever it was in the next lane, he could hear the violent, rapid slaps against the water, and knew he was being surpassed. Not wanting to get humiliated in front of his team, he swam with a new vigor, channeling the inner need to win.

Iwashimizu and the other second-years were cheering for their friend, however it was evident that the other person was gaining speed. The cheers were slowly becoming silence, and the hasty blows on the water coupled with the loud, rapid breathing permeated the air. Shouta was swiftly giving up to the point where he was more concerned with his lunch than the current race.

The loud smack against the wall signaled the stranger was done, and Shouta simply stopped and looked over to the other person.

"Looks like we have a winner." The dean proudly smacked Rin's shoulder, before slowly walking away with his secretary trailing not too far behind him. It was clear his job was done, it was all up to the students now.

Picking up the remnants of his pride, Shouta swam over to the mysterious person to shake hands. The stranger simply shook hands, not acknowledging him with a name.

Immediately, a certain enthusiastic first-year assailed the stranger excitedly, "Ah! How were you able to do that? What school do you come from? That was so awesome!"

The stranger's face soon showed a small smirk, and it was at this moment that Shouta realized the swimmer was wearing a full racerback swimsuit as opposed to legskins. Hoping his conclusions weren't true, and that he wasn't in fact _beaten by a girl,_ Shouta watched the person simply lower his goggles and smile.

Just my luck, Shouta thought, waiting for his impending doom for when the rest of the team realized.

"Do racerbacks give better flexibility in the water after all this time?" Momotarou continued his tirade.

Rin could only thank whatever gods that were out there that blessed him with such a strong team right at the start of the schoolyear. Sousuke, a prodigal swimmer in the national top ten, suddenly appearing in Samezuka. The previous captain's little brother who was already known for his backstroke. And now another, what he could make-out as a first year by the small build, already surpassing those in the year above.

Rin simply pushed the young Mikoshiba aside and offered a helping hand out of the pool to the stranger. Instantly, the collective gasp was overwhelming.

Were those, _boobs?_

Knowing there was no reason to keep the swimming cap on any longer, the _girl_ allowed her long pink hair to flow past her shoulders.

"Who are you?" Rin asked without further thought.

"The dean's daughter, of course."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

LMAO i don't know why i wrote this - or why i will continue writing this - but here ya go.

There has to be a straight couple somewhere, right? xD


	2. Chapter 2

1/2/2016: I CAN'T FOCUS BECAUSE I KEEP WATCHING 50% OFF AHSYIDGHAYUDGAYUSGSGD

" _ **I AM TRYING TO SCREAM MY FEELINGS INTO YOUR MOUTH!"**_

 **XXXXXX**

"This is Sakura Sato. While Samezuka is an all-boys boarding school, this is the dean's daughter. Let's welcome our new student." The English teacher introduced the spitfire that suddenly appeared the day before. Rin admittedly could not guess her personality, he only hoped she wasn't a yandere.

"Hey." She introduced herself in front of the class briefly before looking for a seat to take. Similar to yesterday, she was donned with a large hoodie and her pink-hair pulled back into a casual bun. Sporting leggings and Sperry's, she looked very casual amongst the uniform-clad boys.

There was no way she was a yandere, Rin thought with a small grin. She seemed too independent to be a stereotypical teen-girl, as seen from yesterday's practice.

" _You're so cute!" Momotarou immediately yelled once realizing the stranger was in fact, a girl._

 _It seemed as though the gods were not as merciful as Rin thought. Did any of them even know how to interact with a girl? Sure, he had his sister, Gou. But that was his sister_ , _the way they acted with one another was only natural. And how the hell would this even work? Were there co-ed relays? And if she swam individually, how was he supposed to know the targeted times? This just seemed more like another stack of paperwork._

" _What year are you in?" Rin asked, unable to judge by her physical characteristics._

" _I'm a second-year." Shouta let out a small sigh of relief. Sure he was beaten by a girl, but at least she's his age and not younger. If she was a first year,_ oh god, _he shuddered._

" _But you're so small!" Ai replied, to which she only raised her eyebrows at the boy who seemed to have the same build as her._

 _Rin was inspecting her, giving an actual critical look as if inwardly deciding right now if she could join. Takuya, noticing this, interrupted saying, "You can't be seriously considering this, right?"_

" _Why not?" Sousuke asked from his sitting position at the edge of the pool._

" _She's a girl!" Takuya exclaimed._

" _Didn't she just beat one of our strong second-years?" Sousuke defended._

" _Yeah, but she's a girl." Takuya stressed, "There's no way you can keep up with us." It seemed as if this opinion was the dominating one, and a few of the students behind him nodded their heads in agreement._

" _But she did win with a commanding ten second lead," Iwashimizu, another second-year, argued._

 _She only smirked and lifted her shoulders in derision. As if to show her carefree attitude, Sakura simply strolled over to the benches where her forgotten hoody sat. Donning the article of clothing on, "Just tell me your decision soon."_

"What is she doing in our class?" Sousuke whispered over to Rin, who could only offer up an identically confused face.

Sakura made immediate eye-contact with both of them, however it seemed that she did not recognize either of the boys. Rin sitting by the window, with Sousuke to his right, Sakura took the empty seat in front of the red-head.

Tapping her on the shoulder, "I thought you were a second-year." Rin asked.

Sakura looked over to red-orbs gazing back into her emerald ones. They were so bright against his hair, she thought, and to her it almost clashed. But it was his eyes that reminded her of who Rin was, allowing her to recognize him, "Yeah, but this is the highest English class they offer here. " She replied, and Rin could only wonder how truly mysterious this girl was.

Going over last night's homework, the three swimmers in the back barely contributed to the class discussion. Rin, simply because he was too cool for school. (Or mostly because the teacher did not want to call on him, since he always showed off his English.) While Sousuke hoped to God that the teacher would not call on him since his English was so _bad_. Her first class of the day at a new school and Sakura was already taking a leisurely nap.

Sakura only continued to nap even when the teacher called her out. "Since our new student does not see the need to pay attention. Let's get her input on the work from last night."

Tapping her gently on the shoulder, Sakura slowly stirred before looking at the teacher before her. "Sousuke lend her your workbook. Mind answering the fourth short-answer question on page 145 in English? And read it out loud please." Sousuke deliberately left his notes open as he passed his book over to Sakura, hoping to give this new girl a clue. He hated his English teacher, pretty sure that she was the next spawn of Satan. While he thanked God that he was not called on, Sousuke still felt bad, but he was not about to volunteer. Maybe in math or something, but not English.

Rin only sighed at how sadistic his English teacher could be. Even as a fluent English speaker, Pride and Prejudice was a book he simply did not want to understand. It's not that it wasn't a good book, it just had no appeal to him. And to give this question literally on Sakura's first day, she was truly evil. Did Sakura even read this book yet? Of course she shouldn't have fallen asleep instantaneously, but it was easier to blame the teacher.

Reading the question in obviously fluent English, Sakura recited, "Contrast the personalities of Elizabeth Bennett and Charlotte Lucas concerning their views on marriage."

The teacher looked on expectantly with a small sneer while Sakura stayed silent. Eyes pinpointed all on the pink-haired girl, their English teacher seemed to already be basking in victory.

However, this was short lived when Sakura surprised the class with a response in English, "Both women understood that during this time, the Regency Period of England, whoever they married decided their social class. The person they married was probably the only thing a woman could decide. And even then, not so much. Charlotte makes the decision of marrying Liz's cousin, despite the obvious lack of love. She even goes out of her way to avoid her husband by hiding in the parlor. Meanwhile, Liz denied the same man's proposal and instead waited to marry someone she loved. It just so happened that Mr. Darcy was also the richest man in the area."

Rin, being the only one to fully understand Sakura's statement, watched with a smirk as the teacher let out a huff. The other students kept glancing between the only girl in the class and their infamous detention giver they call a teacher.

"I see." Their female teacher started in English, "You must have been an advanced student in America. But here in Japan, even if you know the subject like the back of your hand, it's respectful to pay attention."

"Sorry, had a late night." Sakura simply replied, pushing her hoodie off and sitting up. She was still slouched on one arm, but it was better than having her head completely down. Fed up with her excuses, the teacher _hmphed_ and walked away.

Sakura handed Sousuke back his workbook with a _thank you_ , he only nodded back to her and asked Rin, "What just happened?"

However, the red-head was only paying attention to the strange girl in front of him. The mystery that is Sakura Sato was only that more intriguing.

As the only other third-year that he respected, Rin deliberated with Sousuke the night before about allowing Sakura to join. Sure they did not know a damn thing about the women's swimming league, but she sure would be an asset. Wherever she was from, the techniques she learned before arriving could help the other members of the team. It was obvious that she was Japanese, but was away from her mother country for an extensive amount of time.

Tapping her on the shoulder, Rin told Sakura in English, "The teacher is always like that, but I doubt she'll bother you more." She smiled at his explanation, but before she turned around he added, "Just so you know, you made the team."

"Cool." She gave a small smile, "Nice _engrish_."

 **XXXXXX**

"So most of you should be acquainted with Sakura, our newest member." Nitori introduced her in front on the rest of the team, on behalf of his quiet captain. Some scoffed at the decision while others agreed, but all quickly continued swim practice before facing the wrath of their evil captain.

Wondering how the hell he should go about this, Rin sat and simply waited for the girl to approach him. Nitori turned and faced the new member, "So, I guess we should actually time your backstroke."

Sakura smiled at the boy, tying up her hair into the swimming cap before replying, "Sure, but it's not my best stroke." Overhearing this, Rin and Sousuke entered the conversation.

"What do you swim?" Sousuke asked.

"I swim free." Rin was hit by a strange case of déjà vu, as if this girl's attitude resembled a certain Iwatobi swimmer.

As if reading his mind, Nitori playfully commented, "Reminds you of Nanase, huh?"

But before either of the boys could reply, Sakura interrupted, "Are you talking about Haruka Nanase? How do you guys know him?"

Looking almost as if he was offended, "He's my childhood friend, we swam at the same swim club before." Rin quickly retorted. However, in Nitori's mind the word _bitch_ was thrown in that sentence and it was obvious that Rin wanted to use it.

Sakura only raised an eyebrow before heading over to an unused lane in the pool. Signaling to Ai that she was about to start, she readied up before responding, "That's strange, I don't remember you."

There's no way, Rin thought, watching her swim free. Reminiscing, the Iwatobi relay was the high of his young life. He honestly could not recall anyone else that belonged to the club outside of his small friend group. Nagisa has older sisters, right? Maybe she met the group through him. But Sakura made it clearly known that it was Haru that she was associated with. If his water-sexual friend had a _female_ friend in elementary, Rin would undoubtedly know. Maybe she appeared after he left to Australia?

Unlike the rough swim-style that many on the team has, including himself, Rin noted how Sakura flowed with the water rather than fighting against it. Even though the loud smacks could be heard, Rin could see how truly smooth and flexible her methods were.

Hitting the wall with a slap, Rin turned to Nitori to silently ask her time. However, the look on the grey-haired boy's face was one of surprise and amazement. Sighing, Rin knew that Ai was not a strong swimmer and might have been easily stunned by whatever her time was. However, when Sousuke walked over and showed slight shock, Rin knew he had to see this.

54.48 seconds

Rin blinked once. Twice. Three times before looking up at the girl who had finally exited the pool and walked over to them.

"So? How'd I do?"

"Fine." Rin bit out, angry that this small girl who he could tower over had a time that was similar to his.

"Where are you from?" Sousuke asked.

"The Hamptons by Laguna Beach." This only confused the Samezuka boys more. Sakura only sighed, "California."

"America?" She only nodded at Ai's question, "So how do you know Nanase-san?"

"Last time I was here, he taught me how to swim." She replied offhandedly before diving back in the pool. The more information Rin received about her background, the more confused he was and more mysterious she appeared.

 **XXXXXX**

Hearing knocking at his dorm door, Rin and Sousuke glanced at one another briefly before sharing a look of confusion. "Did you order food?" Sousuke asked, only receiving a negative nod.

Opening the door, "Hello boys." The dean welcomed in an unintentionally creepy manner.

In a fit of surprise, Rin immediately slammed the door closed. The last time he saw this man, he got an unwelcomed surprise. Whispering to his roommate, "You don't have anything like _drugs_ or whatever laying around?"

"Rin, what the fuck. Open the door."

In a sheepish mess, Rin attempted to compose himself before opening the door, "Sorry about that. Did you need something?"

"I am here for two reasons. First, how was my dear Sakura at her first practice?" Rin thought back to her pushing Momotarou in the pool, since he would not stop fawning over her and constantly basking in her presence. He would argue that that was justifiable.

"She was lovely." Sousuke interjected since Rin entered a long silence.

"Excellent." Mr. Kawashima gave a thumbs-up, before continuing, "So about the dorming problem. Sakura has been commuting from our home to school, but we don't live in the area. And Rin, since you're the captain of the swim team, you're in-charge of who sleeps where."

Seeing where he was going, Rin interrupted, "The entire swim team has already been paired-up and assigned, and there aren't any extra rooms."

"That's precisely the reason why I came here." He pushed his glasses up before looking Rin dead in the eye, "The school would be willing to give the swim team those new varsity jackets that you requested last year and free access to the trainer's room, if you agree to my terms."

Rin and Sousuke only waited in anticipation, those jackets looked _damn_ good in Rin's eyes. They didn't even need someone to be wearing them to look good. Imagine if they were on someone muscled. Rin couldn't help but inwardly fawn over the thought of having such _beautiful_ jackets. Sousuke on the other hand was interested in the trainer's room, there was no way he could personally afford the physical therapist Samezuka offered. Maybe they could help his shoulder. Unconsciously massaging it, Sousuke was already seventy percent sure he was going to agree.

It was clear to the dean that he had his audience entrapped in his offerings, "You will let my Sakura be your third roommate."

"Deal!" Rin had already yelled before the dean was finished and Sousuke only disagreed. "Come on, jackets!"

"Look at how small our room is!" He defended, "Where would a third bed even fit?"

"We would be able to supply a bed." Taking a look around the small apartment, Mr. Kawashima realized there really was no space, "What if we knocked down this wall?"

"Why not just give Sakura a room for herself?" Sousuke asked.

"There are no rooms left. I could kick two out of their dorm, but that would just give me two more people to find a room for."

"Alright. So it's settled, we'll knock down this wall by the desks to give you more room. And then add a bed against the wall with the window." Rin and Mr. Kawashima nodded in agreement.

"What about my opinion? Rin, it's cool as just us bros, but a girl could really ruin the cool atmosphere we got going here." Sousuke interrupted.

"But jackets!"

"What if she has _girl body problems,_ what are even supposed to do?"

"But jackets!"

"What if she has a lot of stuff and it just overflows into our space?"

"You don't understand, we'll look so good in these jackets." Rin adamantly upheld, "Think about the team."

Realizing he was fighting a losing battle, Sousuke just replied with a _fine._

 **XXXXXX**

About a week later, the two swimmers entered their dorm to see it ready for their third roommate. Later that night, said person appeared, already in possession of a key.

Sakura waved at them in greeting, donned with a large backpack and a rolling luggage standing before her feet. Giving a shy smile, she said, "So, please tell me I'm not the only one dreading this."

Sousuke only offered a confused smile and dropped down from the top bunk. Showing her which bed was her's, Rin was puzzled, "Wait. You don't want this? Why was Mr. Kawashima so adamant?"

She casually raised her shoulders in question, "He has a habit of kicking me out of the house."

"What?" Rin asked.

"Actually, last time it was the entire country of Japan." She replied, "Why do you think I was sent off alone to America while I had a step-father here?" The question hung in the air, at least that answered why their last names were different. But that only lead to another question, what happened to her mom?

Sakura, realizing they getting a little too curious about her backstory, interrupted their train of thoughts by saying, "Whatever. I promise I'll be as neat as possible."

Watching her settle in, Rin realized she probably had less stuff in that luggage than he did overall. After covering the bed in proper sheets, Sakura just threw her luggage over the side not minding where it fell. For some reason, Rin thought that this process would be more intricate for a girl. It wasn't until she set-down her backpack and emptied out its contents that he realized what her actual prized possessions were.

Multiple CD cases and what he could guess as a PSP rolled out onto the desk. Weren't girls supposed to have make-up or some shit? Rin waved his mind away from the sexist thoughts, realizing she was probably the opposite. Inwardly slapping himself, Rin could honestly say he's seen enough to typecast her more as a bro than a hoe. He had seen Sakura with her hair down once, she didn't seem like the type to dress-up.

Both boys in the room were staring at her and Sakura had to repress saying mean things from the start. Instead she opted for, "See something you like?"

Sousuke replied, "I'll play you at monster hunter." Eyeing her PSP and raising his identical one up for her to see,

"Watch out pretty-boy, I'll have you know I'm a beast."

Rin could definitely get used to her.


	3. Chapter 3

Days had passed and it seemed as though Sakura was capable of shaving time off her freestyle crawl, which of course did not go unnoticed by the rest of team. What started off as disdain simply because of her gender, was able to slowly change. Rin could honestly say that she gained his respect as a swimmer faster than most of the nameless kids on the team. But _still,_ she could be a bitch.

At most, Sakura was a pleasant combination of friendly and sarcastic. Sakura and Rin shared a derision for mornings, and often engaged in conversation over a cup of coffee. Of course they were both snippy and wanted silence, but the presence of one another was nice. More than once they had an embarrassing run-in, but more one-sided. Rin's only complaint was partly his fault.

Sakura understandably came to practice late to have the changing rooms all to herself. To Rin's dismay, the last teacher of the day required his attention after school and held him against his wishes. Rushing to meet the team, Rin ran to the last set of lockers to see Sakura in a set of undress, her back to him. Instantly, he ran back into the hallway and stripped out there instead with absolutely no intention of going back in.

Sticking to her promise, Sakura was neat and he never had a problem with her approaching his stuff. Not to mention, she had an extensive library of music and wasn't against sharing.

Rin actually thought she was an okay person.

If only she would stop teasing him at every chance. Then she'd be, dare he say, a cool roommate. Otherwise she was complete fucking _annoying._

Of course there were a few people here and there that were jealous, but that could not be helped.

"She has to be cheating, right?" One of the new first-year students asked, a sweatdrop evident as he watched on. Sakura often practiced alone, trying to ignore the obvious gossip that occurred around her.

"She's a monster." Shouta commented, however it was clear that there was a silver-lining of admiration. A few of the members of the Samezuka team were opting to take a break, sitting against the edge of the pool.

Takuya was quick to bring her back down to earth, "She came from a swimming school in America, of course she would be good."

"She's perfect." Momotarou exclaimed from his spot, obviously aboard the hype-train.

"She did lose to Sousuke." Takuya reminded.

"But it _is_ Sousuke-senpai." Nitori defended, "One of the top swimmers in this country."

"Pfft. Whatever, she's been practicing the front crawl almost every day." Takuya complained, "Watch and learn boys."

Sakura did not even bother to get out of the pool, overhearing their conversation. While she was caught off-guard by Takuya's request to compete in backstroke, there was no harm in trying right? Most of team knew her specialty was free and that was all she was practicing and obviously this guy had the need to prove _something,_ she just wasn't sure what.

Sousuke's challenge showed that Sakura could obviously be beaten, but the first and second years were having difficulty. Sakura fell in the age group slightly younger than Nitori and it hurt the younger members' pride.

Rin looked over to Nitori who had a certain look that he'd seen only once before. Taking further inspection, it was clear he was determined. About what? Rin did not know. At the turn, Sakura kept the pace with her smooth dolphin kicks. But it obviously was not enough.

Takuya, slightly triumphant, got out of the pool without offering help to the girl at hand. Sure, he proved that she could be beaten. But it also showed that Sakura's determination pushed her far despite the obvious physical disability. Nitori, on the other hand, got up to offer a helping hand to Sakura. From this distance, Rin and the others could not hear the conversation, but it was clear that Ai was requesting something.

Is he asking her out? Rin asked himself, wondering where the grey-haired boy's confidence suddenly came from. It was clear by the end of the conversation that she agreed and Ai was bowing profusely at her acceptance.

"Break is over!" Rin was pulled out of his stupor, "Get your lazy asses in the pool!"

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura looked down at her phone to see her roommate texting, "Did you pick up your forms?"

Smacking her forehead, she replied, "Whoops forgot. Busy."

"Stupid."

Knowing his aversion to the accursed forms, she asked, "And who is the captain here? Isn't this your job?"

"Do you want to do forty laps tomorrow?" Sakura sighed, about to throw her phone back to the bench when Rin messaged again, "Where are you anyway?"

Deciding to tease her captain, she texted back, "Why? Miss me? ;) "

His response was instantaneous, "NO! It's already 10, just don't want you to be a tired useless lard tomorrow at practice."

She only smirked at his answer and texted, "You are such a tsundere."

Immediately she felt her phone vibrating in Rin's retort, but decided against reading it. If she continued, Sakura knew she would be tempted to respond. But she had more important things to do right now.

After her race with Takuya, the timid Ai approached her with a strange request. "Would you mind training me in breaststroke, after practice?" Ai asked, unable to look her fully in the eye.

"I don't mind, but are you sure you want me as your teacher?" She responded with a question, putting an arm on her neck, "I think it's obvious that there are other swimmers that are probably better at breaststroke than I am."

Ai only gave a small smile, before asking, "But how many of them are going to want to train me?"

Putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Believe me, I've been there before." Sakura thought wistfully of the past, knowing how hard it was to get better when those at the top did not fully understand their ails. "How about every Wednesday and Thursday after practice?" Nitori only answered in several bows, offering an abundant amount of _thank you's_ and _you're the best senpai!_

Which landed Sakura in her position now, throwing her phone back on the pool bench and watching over Nitori. "Want me to time you now?" She asked the boy who nodded in reply.

Rin, however, was on the other side of campus furiously blushing. "She's such a fucking idiot."

Sousuke, hearing this, asked, "Sakura? She always sleeps in, if she gets in late I guarantee she'll be late to homeroom again."

"That's what I said." Rin responded.

However, none of this mattered to the girl in question. She was proud that the boy in front of her was finally pushing harder and faster than before. Sure it was only the first day of having extra practice, but previous to this encounter she thought nothing more of him. Of the weeks she was present, there was nothing in particular of Nitori that stood out. She couldn't not be more wrong, Sakura chucked at this thought. His determination seemed to outshine the others.

Ai was just the captain's lackey that swam an average breaststroke. But now, he was so much more. A person who had a passion to get better at swimming, to prove that he was more than someone else's shadow.

Sure, Samezuka Academy was a powerhouse school for swimming, but in all honesty she did not see who would carry the team other than the captain, Sousuke, or Momotarou. The Samezuka standard is supposed to be higher than above-average, but Sakura simply did not recognize many of the faceless students to match this bar.

Once Ai hit the wall, she threw the timer over to him to see. "Your form is definitely better."

"Thank you Sakura-senpai!" She only nodded at him before motioning over to the clock, he only gasped in horror, "I'm sorry I have taken so much of your time!"

"No don't worry, it's not like I have a bedtime." She patted his head before climbing out, "Get out of the pool already, you worked hard today."

"You as well senpai! You deserve a good night's sleep." He said before waving goodbye, heading over to the showers.

Looking out the windows, Sakura realized it was not raining despite the weather forecast from the morning. A good time for a night jog, right? Deciding to have a hot shower later at the dorm, she simply donned on sweatpants over her racerback swimsuit.

The late skyline was beautiful, Sakura noted. She only wondered why there were not more people enjoying the moon's reflection among the vast amount of stars. Reading the signs to make sure she was going the right way, Sakura ran along the path she found familiar. Not a single cloud in the sky, she could not help but gape at the scenery around her.

Caught up in the sight above her, Sakura failed to notice the only other person running at this time of night. Both swimmers turning the corner at the same time, Sakura collided right into her hot head of a roommate.

Jogging at a fast pace and the fact that he weighed about one and a half of her, Rin's force not only stopped Sakura's running but completely knocked her over. Thankfully, he was able to use his quick response to grab her arm. But he was not fast enough to drag her back to him and instead flipped them around to break her fall.

With her on top of him, Sakura was more shocked than anything. "Watch where you're going!" Rin exclaimed before realizing who collided with him. "Hey! You're staying out this late just to jog? You are _definitely_ dumber than I thought. Next time, let me come with you. You don't know whose lurking around here at this dangerous hour."

Sakura's look of shock only morphed into anger, _What a sexist pig!_ "You jog at midnight all the time! It's no different than me."

"Just listen to me for once, alright?" Rin was obviously in no mood to argue. Sakura only scoffed, but conceded to his demands.

'I guess since this is an all-boys school, but c'mon this is a safe campus," She thought. 'Yeah, but boys be crazy.' Sighing at the fact that he won this round, Sakura only pouted. Sure she was angry, but still appreciative of his softer side. It was obvious that Rin was a protective older brother by all the times he got _pissed_ when Momotarou discussed Gou. It seemed this translated to one of the only other females in his life.

Rin realizing Sakura was not paying attention to him, he glared and responded saying, "You are literally the dumbest person I have ever knocked into."

Frowning at his accusation, Sakura yelled back, "If you're so smart then why didn't you see me coming?!"

"Gah, just shut up."

Lost in her thinking, Sakura failed to comprehend that she was sitting on top of Rin, who was becoming increasingly aware of their positions. However, it was the shout of _I'm sorry for interrupting Senpai's!_ that pulled Sakura out of her reverie.

"Ai!" Rin yelled, causing the two to quickly pull apart.

"You weren't interrupting anything!" Sakura screamed back, but the grey-haired boy was already running away in the direction of the dorms. "Ugh. I should've figured he would catch up." Sakura offhandedly stated as she was dusting off the minimal dirt on her sweatpants.

That last comment did not go by unnoticed by Rin, who only asked, "What?" He was similarly dusting himself off and used the top of Sakura's head to push himself back into a standing position

"You abusive shark!" He only smirked at her complaint.

Picking up Sakura's bag, he noticed that it was the athletic duffle that she brought to practice, "You haven't gone back since practice? Are you planning on dying of starvation?"

Sakura attempted to snatch the duffle back, but he simply held it above and out of reach. "Since you're such a nosy _niichan_ I agreed to help Nitori with his breaststroke."

"What? Why did Ai ask you and not Sousuke?" Rin asked, however Sakura commented that she asked the same question.

Sakura, noting Rin's quiet behavior, said, "Well, I better continue my jog to the cafeteria, it's closing soon."

"What do you want? I'll get it, just head back." Rin stated, refusing to meet her eyes. Sakura only smiled, happy that the shark decided to show his more caring side today. "Don't get any ideas! You smell of chlorine so you better take a bath! You'll stink up the whole room if you don't." She lightly punched his shoulder and pushed him in the direction of the cafeteria.

Running away quickly, Sakura watched his retreating figure with a smile. It was at that moment that she slapped herself in the face, "No! We are just friends. Stop it brain! Reject the feels!"

* * *

 **A/N:** I wanted to reply to a review but it was guest ;-; so here we go:

I just wanted to say thanks for the constructive criticism, it was honestly great to see that someone was actually reading- _reading_ and willing to share their review! I wasn't trying to make Sakura overpowered enough to continually race with the boys, but I needed her to be involved from the start so she could branch out later. The next chapter is about a joint practice, and I didn't want to leave her out completely since a women's medley would be no one. ;-; Honestly, I let her win against Shouta since he was cut from the medley relay (and also they just came back from winter break) and Takuya since he didn't place well at perfectuals. Don't worry, I won't get too angsty! And thanks for the Rin warning, this is my first Free! fanfic and I wasn't sure if he was OOC or nah. Thank you again :)


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: SORRY THIS IS LATE BUT WORK RAN LATE AND 50% WAS PLAYING.**

 **#NORAGRETS**

 **XXXXXX**

"I can't believe you already stole poor Sakura-chan's heart." Momo yelled at Rin, anime tears rolling down his face. "I'll steal her back before you know it!" Before the shark could respond, Momo was running down the hall in anguish, not wanting for the captain to see his tears.

Rin thought back to the night before, remembering the dangerous threats he sent Nitori both physically and emotionally if he dared to tell anyone what he saw. Or at least, what the startle boy thought he saw. Apparently those warnings went ignored, and Rin could not help but put his head in his hands due to an approaching headache. And it was only first period.

His first class of the day was English, and to his surprise Sakura was sat in her spot before he or anyone else even arrived to class. She was constantly late to everything and he did not know why she avoided him that morning. Unlike usual, her mane was not pulled-back into a loose ponytail. Instead, the pink hair flowed past her shoulders all the way down to her elbows.

Dare he say, she looked nice?

Taking notice of her captain, Sakura waved at Rin with a smile. "You're up early today." He commented.

"Yeah, I had a particularly good night's sleep." She replied. Rin sat in his assigned spot behind her while Sakura turned around to face him, "So did you hand in my forms yet?"

Not wanting to talk about a headache-causing topic, Rin pushed her face away in annoyance, "Don't start this early." Sakura grinned at his dismay, but it was a genuine question.

Now, Sakura was unsure if to continue the silence or the conversation. As if to gauge his reaction, she observed his expression. Rin was obviously irritated, but it seemed like he always was.

"You alright?" Sakura probed.

"I'm fine," Rin retorted, "Mind your own business." Before looking away.

That was a clear-as-day sign that he did not want to be bothered and Sakura rotated in her seat to face the front again. The classroom was still empty and his statement rang through the silence. That was until the door slammed open with a livid offender.

"Sakura-chan!" Sakura grimaced at the noise at this time in the morning. Yuta was a very friendly classmate who often made his flirtations known. Sakura knew better than think that his flirting were serious, she had heard somewhere that he made an effort to hit-on every girl within sight. Instead, Sakura construed his words as witty banter like her own.

"Hey, Yuta." She greeted, which he took as the friendly invitation to approach her. Several students were entering the classroom behind him.

"So you busy tonight?" Straight to the point, Sakura blinked several times at this question.

"What?"

"Well, I was wondering…" Yuta drew out, noticing the glare behind the pink-haired beauty that was directed at himself. "If you would…" He hesitated, not wanting to face the wrath that was behind those scarlet eyes.

"If I would…?" She asked.

"If you would have time to watch Breaking bad? I heard it's a great show." Yuta recovered smoothly, deciding against having his body mauled and beaten by a certain swim team captain who he knew he could not take in a fight. "Sorry, I didn't know you had a boyfriend."

"What?!" Both swimmers exclaimed, but Yuta already walked away towards his seat.

Sakura was madly blushing, unsure what happened right now. Rin angrily asked, "Who the hell is this boyfriend?"

"I don't know." Causing both to confusedly look at Yuta before turning their attention to the teacher at hand.

Their English teacher planned for partner-work, and Rin immediately took Sakura's arm in question. Sousuke was absent today, having the reason that he had an important doctor's appointment.

Dividing up who did what pages, the two breezed through the work with ease. The worksheets were on advanced composition and grammar and should have taken the whole period, but the two English speakers were done within minutes.

Once they were settled and done, Rin asked offhandedly, "Do you really have a boyfriend?"

"Me? Of all people?" She teased. However, that did not sit well with him. He tried to look casual, he really did. But it was hard to look uninterested in a topic that he wanted to know about.

"That doesn't answer the damn question."

"No I do not," Sakura responded before hesitating, "Not that it's any of your concern."

Rin growled, "Of course it's my concern."

Sakura only felt her anger rise, "Why the hell would it be—"

"Sorry to interrupt," A student whom the two recognized as another third-year student, "You guys don't have to pretend. Momo told everyone this morning, so you can drop the act."

Sakura was entirely confused, unable to respond. Rin was about to interject, knowing what that red-headed _fucking idiot_ was spreading around. But the student continued on. "Besides, you guys are really loud and distracting. So please, try to whisper." He stated before returning to his work.

The pink-haired girl looked at Rin in question, but he was glaring at nothing in particular. _Momo is doing the 100 laps today. Nope, I don't give a shit if it can be classified as torture. It's the worst I can do to him, besides murder._ Rin thought.

Taking out her phone, Sakura was about to send multiple texts to Momo in question. Rin, anticipating this, grabbed her phone right before she sent.

"He's telling everyone we're dating."

Her look of surprise quickly turned into small chuckling, which morphed into all-out laughter. Putting a hand on her mouth to suppress the noise, Sakura was reduced to muffled giggles. Rin, meanwhile, was offended.

"Is the idea of dating me really that funny?"

"No," She replied between fits of laughter, wiping away tears at the corner of her eye, "It's just so random, like whyyyyyy." She questioned.

"He is roommates with Ai, he probably told him about what he saw last night." Rin replied.

"What he saw…" Sakura was recalling, "But we weren't doing anything, right?"

"That's hard to believe since you were straddling me ." Rin smirked, teasing her. Sakura's face quickly matched her hair, unable to respond between her sputters. Rin inwardly laughed at the usually calm, teasing girl getting a taste of her own medicine. Deciding to take it one step further, Rin placed his hand on hers before adding, "But of course, I did allow it."

Her pink, now red blush, spread from her cheeks to the entirety of her face, from the neck to the brow. Rin could no longer hold in his laughter, and loved her embarrassed face. Rin swore he could cook an egg on her forehead.

 **XXXXXXXX**

After giving the first-years some pointers, such as: _You raise your knees so damn high, relax,_ Rin was silently relishing over the improvement of his team. Perfectuals were still further down the line, but in the weeks that this new team was able to practice, Rin could admit that there was noticeable progress.

Sure, Rin knew he could be evil, but those laps definitely helped everyone (especially Momo). Thinking again over this statement, Rin could only wonder if he was justifying his actions or if they were in fact true. Seeing Nitori swim against Toru, Rin knew it was the latter reason.

 _Sakura was only starting her shower when Rin arrived at the dorm panting, a traditional brown –paper bag in his hands. "What's that?" Sousuke asked._

" _Doesn't matter," Rin replied, setting the bag down on Sakura's desk, "Anyway, Ai asked Sakura to train him in breaststroke, that's why she got home late."_

" _That's strange, it's not even her specialty." Sousuke noticed._

 _Getting right to the point, Rin stated, "He might not want to ask you, since you're y'know, you."_

 _Sousuke stared pointedly at his best friend, "I'll talk to him about it tomorrow."_

 _After a pep-talk from Sakura and a convincing from Rin, Ai was so anxious that he ended up rushing the talk and being the one to approach Sousuke about further training. With a small smile at Rin's friend, Sousuke accepted his request. It was obvious that the older man was better versed in the swim-style, and Ai was enjoying the training. Sure he was not as approachable as_

 _Sakura and not as verbose as Rin, but Sousuke was a gentleman._

" _It's already late night, Sousuke-senpai! If you want to get some good night's sleep, don't let me stop you!" Sousuke, while he was imagining the comfort of his bed, was moved by the shota's determined attitude._

 _Looking over to the clock, it was already ten at night. Sousuke was surprised that Nitori was able to persevere through all this thorough training, but still proud nonetheless. "No let's continue."_

The grey-headed boy was swimming with all the determination that Rin already knew he possessed. Sitting down, Rin took a breather.

However, the meditation did not last long until his best friend interrupted his thoughts. "Why didn't you just tell me you and Sakura were a thing?" Sousuke teased his friend, earning a quick kick from the red-head. Said shark was thinking of the multiple ways in punishing Nitori.

"Because there's no way in hell that would happen." Rin replied, frowning.

Sousuke responded, "Well, word on the street is that Nitori saw you two in a compromising position." Rin was cursing the second-year. Sure, this topic made his morning quite entertaining. But the constant teasing was beyond what Rin could handle.

"Don't get the wrong idea, idiot." Rin bit back, not liking his best friend's smug face.

"I'm just relaying to you what I heard." Sousuke kept teasing.

"Well it's false."

Sosuke paused, before replying, "It's too bad many are convinced otherwise."

Frowning, "I thought you weren't one to engage in gossip."

"This was particularly entertaining, since I think it's true." The teal-eyed man pushed the topic, earning a passionate glare from the shark. "What? I think you guys are cute."

Rin, already reaching his breaking point, stood up to his best friend. Sure, Rin was still smaller in height, but it was better than looking up to Sousuke from a sitting position.

"Let me make this clear," Rin growled, "In absolutely no way, will I ever date that pink-haired bitch."

Sakura, sitting on the edge of the pool not too far away overheard their conversation, simply noting his statement in the back of her head. She did not mean to eavesdrop into what seemed a private matter, but once hearing her own name she decided why not. Now she knew why.

Sure, Sakura could not help but think that Rin as attractive. But it seemed that he had the opposite notion of her. She could not deny that she was beginning to feel _something,_ but Rin's declaration brought a sharp realization. She was nothing more than the woman he was forced to put on the team.

Sighing, the pink-haired swimmer could not honestly admit to being devastated. They were by no means together or even slightly having mutual feelings for one another. If anything, his words just brought her back to reality. She long ago accepted the fact that she was not gorgeous or beautiful, not that she wanted to be. Or at least, not always. Sakura accepted that she was cute, to a degree, but there was always someone prettier or funnier that would catch people's attention. In no way did she want all to be an attention-hog, but it would be nice to be admired once in a while. Knowing her hobbies and lack of girly-ness, this seemed far out of her reach.

Realizing that someone was approaching her, Sakura looked up only to see Takuya offering her a hand. "Listen, if you're not going to swim I suggest sitting over there." She only muttered a small sorry before getting up.

"Wait!" Takuya yelled, "Sorry that came out wrong. I'm offering you my seat."

"Wait, what?" Sakura looked at him incredulously, was this still the same guy who challenged her simply because of his prideful testosterone?

"I know what you're thinking," Takuya started, "Consider this a slow apology for being an ass when you first got here."

"Why?" Sakura asked incredulously, but still had a small smile on her face.

"It's not like you're a good swimmer," Takuya sheepishly murmured, "Besides, there are still guys here who don't like you just because you're a girl. I can't believe I was like that."

Sakura's smile only widened, "Well, I think I'm done resting." She stated, noticing his crestfallen face, "I heard you want to be in the relay, want to work on exchanges?" He nodded excitedly before directing her to swim first.

Rin, too angry at the accusations of his best friend, failed to even notice his surroundings. Looking over to the clock, practice would be over in about twenty minutes and that was just enough time for him to jog and cool-off. After another five minutes of deliberating, Rin ended practice early, stating that the team was doing well and deserved a break once in a while.

 **XXXXXX**

Sakura was absently gazing out the window, not paying attention to whatever the calculus teacher was dragging on about. This was another one of her easier classes, so she simply allowed herself to get lost in thought today. Usually the eccentric math teacher was calling on students left and right, but the lecture today was a how-to for derivatives. If this was Japanese literature or history, she would undoubtedly be taking notes. But her mind was elsewhere.

A certain shark boy coupled with the flier in front of Sakura prompted the girl to ask herself, _Why do I swim?_

For the adrenaline of races? For the happy memories of a team? Sakura denied these reasons as simply not good enough to properly sit in her head. She could have the same adrenaline with any other sport, so why was it swimming in particular? And the Samezuka team was still filled with boys who opposed her very presence. The words friendship and team were just not associated together with Sakura.

To appease my step-father?

This reason especially did not sit well with Sakura, but it seemed the most logical. Sakura's mother died before she could even walk, and it seemed as though her step-father wanted absolutely nothing to do with her after. Sakura was _slightly_ better than most at swimming and Mr. Kawashima reasoned that she inherited it from her mother. He sent her away to the best swimming school he could afford, far away from himself.

For her mother? _No way, I barely remember her._

The local cheerleading team used the Samezuka gym after school and posted fliers all around in hopes of gaining new members. Knowing the particularly muscles boys that attended, Sakura assumed they were looking for bases. The audition process started today after school. Maybe if she tried another sport, it would give her the make or break reason why she swam.

The other thought plaguing her was the red-head man across the classroom. Now that Rin closed the door on a possible relationship, it only made Sakura want him more. Previous to yesterday's practice, she would have not thought more of Rin than the impatient roommate that she absolutely loved to tease. Now, her feelings were undeniable.

 _Crushes are stupid. No wait, feelings in general are stupid._ Sakura sighed. Attending an all boys' school was still not enough to help her start a love life. Of course, Momo and some others often engaged in flirting, but it wasn't serious. Sakura knew that those boys probably flirted with every girl they saw. Sakura was the default choice, the only girl present for hundreds of hormonal boys, and even then it seemed like none of them seriously wanted her.

This thought made her cringe more.

Placing her head down on the desk, she inwardly groaned. "What's wrong?" The voice of Sousuke Yamazki asked, sat at the desk next to her.

Sakura cursed that she accidentally let that slip out-loud and tucked the flier away from his view, "Nothing." She groaned out again before raising herself to a sitting-position.

"You're a terrible liar." Sousuke pried.

Glancing out the window, Sakura hid her eyes from him, he read them so damn well. Instead, she let out a, "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." He paused, "Or at least, not well." Sakura gave a small chuckle. She found small joy in teasing her roommates and getting a rise out of them, but it seemed Sousuke was already used to it and willing to fire some back.

"Why thank you, kind sir." She mocked back with a small grin, "Just not feeling too well."

Sousuke hesitated, darting his eyes to the left before returning back to her, and asked." Is it, _girl_ problems?"

"No!" She immediately replied, "You idiot that's not always the reason."

Used to both his roommates' insults, "Then what is the reason—"

A loud slam of a textbook gained the attention of both swimmers, "Will you two lovebirds stop flirting and let me teach this class?" The eccentric teacher exclaimed.

Both held their hands up in defense, Sousuke replying first, "That's not what we were doing!"

The teacher was not having any excuses and pointed his meter ruler in their direction, "You can continue your romantic endeavors outside of this classroom! No kissing in here!"

Sakura only slammed her forehead back down on the desk, refusing to even continue this conversation. Why didn't she just nap in this class? Better yet, why did she even bother to get out of bed today? Sousuke forced down the blush that was crawling up, avoiding the gaze of the entire class that turned around to laugh at the two. Both failed to see particular red-eyes glaring pointedly at said best friend.

 **XXXXXX**

"But Samezuka is an all-boys boarding school." One of the girls behind the large table pointed out.

"I'm the only exception." Sakura gave a toothy smile. Rushing after school, she ran over to the gymnasium and was able to pass the first round. Once those who could not perform level two flips were rooted out, they were judging individual people one at a time.

"Five years of swimming, why the change?" One of the boys asked, looking over the forms she filled out earlier.

"I need to find my passion," Sakura paused, "Swimming, I was just going through the motions." She spoke candidly, surprised at her own words. _Was this what she truly felt?_

"Let's see what you got." The, or who Sakura assumed to be since she sat in the middle, captain stated. Floor gymnastics was her main sport as a child and the reason why she quit was still hazy. Her old routine was completely forgotten, so during the day Sakura opted to skipping class and rewatching old videos to get a feel of what she should do. The dormitory was not the best place for her to practice, but at the moment it was the only place, so she had to make-do.

Performing a triple back-hand spring was not as easy as before, but it definitely rose feelings from within that seemed absent since recently – was it excitement? It seemed as though these days, she dreaded swim practice. Her all-boy team often left her lonely, practicing on the side without the comradery others had. The few friends Sakura thought she gained, it seemed only fiction. She practiced to what seemed no end with almost no socialization, and honestly could not stand it any longer.

Her last flip was signaled with her smilingly goofily and asking, "Sorry, I'm a little rusty."

Glancing to her left and right, the captain nodded before replying, "You're definitely sloppy in some places," but gave a small smile, "But we wouldn't mind having you on-board."

Sakura smiled back, shaking all their hands and learning their names. The number of boys and girls varied, and she could not hold in her excitement at possibly having a real team with actual friends.

As if on cue, Sakura received a text from Rin, "You skipped school and you're missing practice. What's up with you?" She pocketed the phone, not planning on replying any time soon.

Meanwhile, Rin was noticeably seething, dictating to the younger ones how many more laps they had to do. "Seriously what the hell is wrong with her?"

Sousuke, hearing this, replied, "She told me she wasn't feeling too well this morning."

Rin's anger only spiked more, if possible, "Of course, who could forget your flirting today?"

"I wouldn't call it that." Sousuke knew Sakura was a rather touchy subject as of late with Rin.

"Oh is there another word for flirting that I don't know about?"

Sousuke, the calmer one of the conversation, replied slowly, "You know how we banter back and forth."

"Well then stop." Rin stated.

Sousuke only raised an eyebrow, "Why are you so jealous? I thought you said you wouldn't ever have feelings for her."

Rin paused before misconstruing his friend's words, "So when I refused to liking her, you took that as an invitation to scoop her up for yourself?"

This conversation was getting way off-topic, and Sousuke could only pinch the bridge of his nose. "I think you're the real idiot here."

"Excuse me?!" The red-head yelled, gaining the attention of fellow swimmers around them.

"You better admit your feelings to her before someone else does!" Fuck calm, Sousuke threw rationality out the window and basically shouted back. Not wanting to hear his reply, Sousuke walked over to an empty lane and went to practice his butterfly.

Rin's angry aura lasted until after practice to late at night. Sitting alone on his bunk, he glanced at the empty bed to wonder where the girl was after all this time. She didn't reply and that only raised his worry.

She was a constant annoyance, but held so many similarities to himself. Both were _hella_ good swimmers. Both were fluent at English, even though she constantly mocked his accented when he did speak. Both apparently were hot-headed, subject to very, _very_ moody swings. They could be the future Olympic power-couple, and their children could be have the strength of them combined. _Woah,_ Rin paused, _Where the hell did that come from?_ He could barely believe his own thought process. Rin simply wanted to come to terms with his feelings, not plan an impossible future.

Or maybe, just maybe, could be possibly...

… like her?


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Anyone else stuck in this blizzard? :( stay safe! fighting! xD**

"Don't think I'm letting you off easy about that rumor, Mikoshiba!" Sakura saw the little twerp in the hallway and immediately gave chase. Once within each other's space, she yelled at him, demanding why he started those rumors, "Why would you spread that!?"

Momo did not skip a beat, "So you're denying that you were seen straddling Rin-senpai?!"

Sakura hesitated, "Well, no."

"Then is it still a rumor? Or fact?! Huh?" His face was getting closer, as if he were interrogating her.

Sakura blushed and took a step back before replying, "Well, what about that part about us dating? Rin made it very clear that he holds no romantic feelings for me."

"Then that one is on me. Sorry, Sakura-chan." Momo paused before continuing, "There's something else I have to talk to you about." He stated before dragging her down the hallway and into an empty one, "You better not leave us Sakura-chan." His voice was uncharacteristically low.

"What are you talking about?" She questioned.

"You missed two practices in a row!" Momo reasoned, she took notice of his suddenly serious nature.

"That means nothing." She waved off, trying to look in a different direction. "I'm late all the time to school and practice anyway."

Momo only followed her gaze, intent on making her see his eyes, "Well, what about the fact that your name was seen posted on with the cheerleading team? Huh?!"

"I just wanted to see if I could make it…" Sakura lied, "Where did you even hear about that?"

"Ai-chan is the one who posts the swimming announcements on the main board. He saw your name."

"What is it with Nitori?! Is he spying on me or something? I feel like he's always the one to find stuff out about me." Sakura believed. Despite her anger towards the grey-headed boy, she knew she was caught. Sakura attempted to walk away before muttering out a, "Don't worry too much about it."

Unbelieving of her excuse, Momo grabbed her arm and leaned back to fully take a look at her face. Not buying it, he gave a small exhale before stating, "I thought you were a swimmer."

"I am!" She yelled.

"No, you're not! Just because you swim, doesn't give you the title." Momo countered, "I swim not because I am good at it, but because it is the very reason I can live and breathe. I was born to be Japan's Legendary Sea Otter! It's the sport that I love." He paused, "But you, you don't even have that."

His words stung and hit the heart hard. This was Momo, the excitable boy who was _younger_ than her, and he still had a mature understanding about swimming. Meanwhile, Sakura still had yet to know _why_.

Not knowing that his words were in fact getting to her, Momo yelled, "You aren't even loyal to the very sport you spent five years on! Why even go through all this trouble if you weren't going to stick around? Why lead on the team?"

"Excuse you?!" Unable to handle the accusations, Sakura interrupted, "Is it really a team when half the people are forced to stand you? And how on earth was I supposed to know that the joy I found in swimming was going to be sucked out of me?

"That's not true!"

"You're really sweet Momo, but not everyone on the team is like you." She paused, "Being here opened my eyes. I swim for all the wrong reasons, so maybe it's time for me to let it go."

"So you are quitting?!" He was only getting louder, gaining the attention of others in the main hallway. Passer-byers glanced into their hall, wondering what the serious conversation was about.

"No!" She immediately responded, before hesitating slightly, "Maybe. I don't know."

Momo looked heart-broken, but collected himself before letting go of Sakura's arm. "If you quit, don't expect to see me ever again."

They held eye-contact for several seconds, before Sakura could finally ask, "Why are you being so harsh?"

"Because I know you love swimming and you're only running away from your problems!"

"Why would you assume that!?" They were nearly screaming.

"I saw you when you first came here! I know exactly why. Why would you go to an all-boys swimming school for cheerleading? Why would you offer to help Nitori just to quit?" He gave her the hardest look he could muster up, inwardly apologizing for his blunt tactic.

But it made the point. Ten seconds of silence was followed by the distant yelling of, _Momo-kun?!_

"Nitori is looking for me, I slipped away from practice." He stated before walking away, "You better get your shit together, Sakura-chan." He didn't even look back.

 **XXXXXX**

There were only a few places that Sakura found solace. And _damn,_ did she have some thinking to do. Knowing that her roommates were at practice, she retreated home to grab her athletic duffle.

Sadly, to her and Rin's discontent her side of the room was a mess. In order to even find the bag, Sakura threw her luggage across the bed and started scavenging. Quickly finding the necessary items, Sakura grabbed a hoodie and headed out the door.

The train to Iwatobi was not _too_ long, but time did not seem to be a factor to the pink-headed girl. Why would she care about time when she could be late to school and nobody cared about her? (Or at least, she believed so.)

The sand between her toes was relaxing. Stripping in a Haruka-like manner, she ran into the ocean without hesitation. Sakura was running away from her swimming problem by swimming, she noted with unappreciated irony. The ocean was still mildly cold from the late winter air and each front-crawl stroke seemed to feel like glass against her arms.

The water used to be like a second skin to Sakura, working with her to reach the finish line. But now, what exactly was her finish line? To swim competitively? To swim for her dad? Sakura acknowledged these questions, but refused to find the answers. Instead, she swam absentmindedly in the ocean, hoping that some epiphany will suddenly strike her.

Such an idea never came, Sakura crawled back onto the shore gasping for air. Swimming was never like this and the water always seemed to work with her rather than against. But instead, it seemed to be rejecting her. _Maybe this a sign._

Flipping over to lay on her back, Sakura watched the sun set beyond the horizon while trying to level her breathing. It seemed that the many years of training all went to waste. Never before had she had problems with stamina or basic swimming techniques, but it seemed that the breathe had been knocked out of her.

"Sakura-chan?" Hearing her name, Sakura looked back to see two familiar faces. Makoto was astonished, posing a question for her, "What are you even doing here?"

"To swim." Haruka answered, causing Sakura to smirk at his answer.

"Hey Makoto-kun, Haruka-senpai." She nodded before gazing back at the ocean. "I honestly don't even know what I'm doing."

Both boys were stunned into a confused silence and Sakura grabbed her hoodie and donned it. She continued saying, "It's already late, so maybe I should head back."

"Where exactly is back?" Makoto asked.

"Samezuka Academy." The question marks almost visibly appeared on Makoto's head, the growing confusion being more and more evident. "Sorry, it's a long story. Maybe next time I'll explain?" Sakura rushed out the words before breaking out in a run in the direction of the train station.

She could barely explain to herself why she was here now, how could she possibly explain to them?

Nightfall was upon her once she neared the academy. Figuring practice was way over, considering the time, Sakura entered the pool area. To her appreciation, it was completely empty. Throwing off her clothes again and taking out her timer, she set it on the diving board to dangle above the pool. Clicking start and diving away, Sakura raced with all that she had left.

Sousuke was always the last one to leave the changing room, save for Sakura when she did go to practice. He had his own reasons. However, to leave said room, one had to walk through the pool area. Which was the predicament he found himself in now. If he made his presence known, she would surely run away or yell at him for eavesdropping. (Or both) So he opted to simply staying where he was, waiting. Of all people, he knew that people had the right to kept secrets within, and if they wanted to share it was up to the person. He wasn't one to pry,

Before hitting the wall, Sakura grabbed the time and hit stop. She was ten seconds worse. And she knew for a fact that that much time was not necessary for grabbing said timer. Years plus weeks at Samezuka did not aid her at all, if anything contributed to her downfall.

With no solutions, other than facing her failure, Sakura slowly pulled herself out of the pool. Crawling onto the floor and gripping her sides, crying. There seemed to be no escape from her continuing disappointments.

Why even continue swimming? She wasn't good at it, and no one would care if she quit. If anything, it would benefit her two roommates who probably wanted their boyish privacy back. Her sobbing became more evident, and came out as choked sobs against the silence, empty room.

Sousuke absently massaged his shoulder, wondering if her secrets were the same as his.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After her pool escapade, Sakura went to the library and cooped up at one of the large desks. Not wanting to face her roommates, she napped there alone.

Sousuke retreated to the dorms way after Sakura left, maybe into the AM's, he was unsure. Rin was wide awake in his bunk, questioning if the teal-eyed man saw the girl. Sousuke refused, saying he seen neither hide nor hair of her. Rin gave a worried sigh before sitting back up-right.

"I lied." Sousuke immediately countered.

"What?" Rin was confused.

"She's going through some stuff right now." Sousuke vaguely explained, "It's something only she can solve."

Not knowing where else to go, and certainly not class since she shared most of them with swimmers, Sakura entered the gymnasium to see several members of her _new_ team already stretching. The routine was hard enough that Sakura needed constant guidance, always looking towards her mentors for the next few steps.

However, it was nice to be challenged. Not only was the daily exercise beyond her abilities, this cheerleading team did not immediately hate Sakura simply because of her gender. Instead, they offered clear guidance so she could quickly reach their level. These were all added bonuses, to what seemed like the best team at the moment.

Rin, peering into the gymnasium, spotted his roommate alongside strangers he could not at all recognize around campus. It seemed as though the rumors were true. He silently bit his lip, if this was where Sakura was truly happy, who was he to stop her? _I missed my chance._ Seeing her smile with these faceless people, he gave a final look before walking away.

Sakura failed to feel the scarlet eyes gazing at her nor the adrenaline she felt when swimming.

Deciding that since the floor routine was not risky enough, Sakura brushed up on the flyer techniques. Soaring through the air brought on a deep-seeded feeling that obviously, was untouched for a long time. The adrenaline was making its way through her veins, but not quite like the rush she got when first racing Sousuke.

Shaking her head, Sakura refused to think of her swimming counterparts when such an amazing opportunity was in front of her.

"You're good," The captain patted Sakura's shoulder, "But so stiff."

"What? This feels natural." Sakura massaged said area.

"You need to let go, relax this area," The captain pointed, "But I get it, you move your arm this way since it's only natural to you as a swimmer."

Recalling Momo's words, Sakura stuttered, "Wha-What?"

"What's wrong? You're a natural swimmer so your body has to get used to this." Sakura averted her gaze, nodding at the captain's directions. Following her guidance, Sakura's arms felt like limp noodles. This was supposed to be natural? It felt fake, like her body was almost rejecting this new sport.

By the end of practice, her mind was already made-up.

 **XXXXXX**

Silently closing the dorm door behind her, it was already midnight and both roommates were seemingly sleeping. The gymnastics practice and the meditation run after helped Sakura finally clear her mind. It wasn't simply engaging in any sport that made her happy, it had to be swimming.

"Sakura," Rin greeted, wiping away at his groggy eyes as he sat up, "You haven't been home in a while."

 _Home._ She thought wistfully. Sakura was still wary of the very man who rejected her a few days ago and muttered out a, "Been doing some stuff."

"You good now?

"Yeah."

"Good. You had me worried."

"Sorry, didn't mean to." Sakura stated, looking away from him trying to shield her surprise. He wasn't supposed to care. He was supposed to be her aloof captain who only withstood her, not be concerned about her.

They shared a small silence before Rin gave into his mind's urgings. "Come here, let's talk," He sat up and motioned to a spot next to him on the bed. Once she sat cross-legged facing him, he asked, "So gymnastics, huh?'

"No, that was small phase." Sakura replied, "I just needed to find some stuff out for myself."

"Like what?"

"Why swimming?"

"Well why not swimming?"

"I kind of fell into a hole," She admitted, "I'm not even that good at it. I always figured I did it for the adrenaline, but that sort of rush is coupled with a challenge. Most people do it for their team, and sorry for saying this, but I don't feel connected to the team at all." Tears slowly escaped, rolling down her face, "I practice on the opposite end of everyone, separated and alone. Most of them hated me from day one and these are the people I'm supposed to spend the most time with and call my friends? Some of them still hate me! I knew what it was like to be on a team before, and it just hurts that I lost that. I just—"

Rin silenced her by shoving her below his chin, his odd version of hugging, "Don't worry about that, most of them hate me too. Hey, I'm a transfer student who stole the role of captain."

"Yeah, but you're still the captain. They have to like you or face 100 laps." Sakura defended.

"Nah, they don't." He tangled his hand gently through her hair, "And are you kidding me, you're a great swimmer. Just ask Shouta."

Sakura chucked lightly, a contrast to her tears, "Another person who hates me."

"Don't think about them, think about swimming."

"Well why do you swim?" Sakura asked.

"For the team."

Sakura was unsure how to respond to this. He advised her to not think about the others, but he swims for the team? However, the look on his face showed that Rin had it all figured out. There was something she was missing, but then again she didn't really know Rin's background.

She attempted to subdue her loud, erratic heart, but both heard it nonetheless in their close confines. Against his chest, Sakura noted that his heartbeat was steady and slow, steadying her in her sobfest. Rin rubbed her back, whispering, "Just don't scare me again. What would the team do without their cutest member?" He teased.

Sakura pushed against his chest to offer a small smile. He usually retorted to her teasing with either an insult or silence. This moment was rare and despite her disheveled look and tear-stricken face, she looked at him full on. Rin gazed back, taking in the beautiful sight of his usually head-strong teammate in such a weakened state. It made her so much more human.

She was no longer the girl out of his reach, but simply the opposite. The girl he was coming to terms with within the safety of his arms. Sakura looked away from his serious stare, embarrassed at her assumed ugly state. But she was beautiful, in his eyes.

She opted to nuzzling back into the comfort below his chin.

She mocked back, "For a shark, you really do care."

Rin was thankful that her vision was block while a blush broke out on his face, "… Shut up. Don't ruin the moment." Heading his advice, Sakura simply enjoyed the encouragement.

 _This had to mean something right?_ Sakura thought from her position, nothing how his tight grip around her waist.

Once Rin deemed her calm enough, he lightly stroke her hair and leaned them both back onto the bed. However, Sakura was inwardly – and probably outwardly too – embarrassed. Was he cuddling her? Sakura was unsure of what to do, to stop hugging him and retreat to her own bed or indulge in her selfish desire and stay put.

Rin shifted his arms, but held on just as tight. She took this as an invitation to stay, and her blush increased tenfold as the blanket crept around them. Rin smirked at her red face before closing his eyes and allowing the sweet escape of sleep.

Tomorrow was another day.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: THIS IS SUCH A CRACK CHAPTER I HAVE NO REGRETS LOL**

 **(this might be b/c im rewatching boys over flowers) (whoops I still have Naruto stories to update?)**

Unlike usual, Sousuke was the first to wake-up. Another one of the joint-practices was today and he wanted to put on his brace and massage his shoulder first before. Sliding down the ladder to his bunk, he was surprised with the view of his two roommates cuddling on Rin's bed.

 _Pfft, finally._ Sousuke noted, before taking a quick picture on his cell phone. _Consider this revenge for that ice-cream, you bastard._

The light sound of the door closing, signaling Sousuke's departure, woke Rin up. The sun was low rising and he felt the weight of someone laid across his chest. Pink-hair cascaded around him, her breathing steady showing she was still dead-asleep. He didn't want to wake her up, but he had to get up soon or later. He slid to the side slowly so most of her body moved from her chest to simply on his arm.

Rin usually woke up around this time for an early morning jog. But now, he had no intention of getting up. His bed was never this comfortable before, although he may attribute that to his bed partner rather than the bed itself. He looked down at the girl once more, pushing some hair away from her face.

Last night was rather emotional, but Rin could not help but grin at advancement in their friendship. He actually _knew_ her now. He knew her enough to trust her, at least. Deciding to get a few more moments of sleep, Rin curled his arm around her waist to cuddle further into her presence.

Before he knew it, Rin was back asleep and snoring.

It wasn't until a few pokes on the cheek that he woke up. "Rin, we're going to be late." Sakura murmured. Rin's eyes flew open instantly, he was only hoping for a couple more minutes of sleep. But the clock now read eight in the morning. Groaning, he looked down to see that Sakura was also awake but had her eyes closed and refused to get up as well.

"Come on, let's go." He commanded, but also made no effort to actually sit-up.

"Five more minutes," Sakura replied, rolling so she was facing him.

Rin knew he had to get up or else he might fall asleep again. "I'll go first."

Before he could sit up, she grabbed at his chest and said, "Thanks again for last night, I was all crazy and stuff, y'know."

"No problem," He smiled at her aloof statement and winked, "It was nice sleeping together."

Sakura blushed before trying to kick him off the bed. Expecting this, he grabbed the leg and tickled the foot before she could recoil.

"You are truly evil, Matsuoka!" She exclaimed between giggles.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"So today we have another joint-practice." Rin announced, pointing to the students donned with blue jackets, "We will do the same as last time. I will pair you guys up with the second years for now, just for timing purposes. Maybe later we'll have a medley race."

Meanwhile, Momotarou was hyping himself up, not willing to lose another race to these guys. Even though the last one was not official, there was absolutely no way it would be the same outcome. Ai was thinking around the same lines, he was determined not to lose. Since then, he'd been training under Sousuke's wing, and he was not about to let that go to waste.

Showing off his training, Ai raced alongside Toru. It was clear that the blonde had more experience than Ai, holding a better streamline under the water. But Nitori was able to keep up with his pace. Eventually, Ai was able to beat his counterpart.

His team, instantly taking notice, was already showering him in praise over his improvement. Kazuki neared his fellow grey-headed second-year and patted him on the back, "Dude, that was awesome!"

"Have you been using a secret technique?!" Momotarou exclaimed.

Rin, watching from afar, smiled at how far Ai's determination brought him. "Looks like you're not that bad of a teacher." He commented to Sousuke, who was also observing Ai's performance.

"He got himself this far, I only gave him a push." Sousuke replied, seeing Ai's conflicted attitude. Ai knew he improved, but he was incredibly _far_ from the best.

"Sorry I'm late guys! I swear this is only the twelfth time!" Sakura exclaimed, running out of the dressing room over to Rin.

"Whatever." He replied, knowing there wasn't anything else he could say. Try getting here on time? But then she'd be subject to changing in front of all these boys. Rin opted to just staying silent.

After tickling her, he had to force himself to get ready or otherwise end up flopping back into the bed. Not that he did not want to see the Iwatobi team, it was quite the opposite, it was just the best damn sleep he had in a while. She was definitely a warm, comforting presence in his arms the night before.

"Good morning Oniichan," Gou greeted, receiving a small wave back.

Spotting a familiar face on the opposite side of the pool, Sakura ran over to the younger Matsuoka. "Gou-chan! I haven't talked to you in person for so long." Sakura exclaimed before giving her a look up-and-down, "You're still such a small cutiepie!"

The red-head in response blushed and screamed, "And you're still a crazy Lolita!"

"Excuse you I am a mature sixteen year old now!" She yelled again, earning the looks of an intrigued Sousuke and Rin. The two girls only high-fived and hugged quickly after.

Momotarou quickly ran after the only two girls, and exclaimed, "My two favorite girls in one place! It's a dream come true!" However, his excitement did not last long and was dragged away by the furious older Matsuoka.

"Stay away from my sister." Rin murmured when he threw Momo into the pool. "Start practicing!"

Soon the girls' conversation centered at the shark in front of them. Gou giggled at a comment Sakura made, and Rin, noticed this and turned around to face them. He could not hear their conversation over the loud swimming behind him and could only wonder who the center of their spirited conversation was.

Until finally, Gou shouted in an outrage, "Excuse you, but his are obviously the best!" This gained the attention of the boys in the area, to which Sakura replied in equal vigor.

"Lower your voice or he'll hear us!" Sakura _hmphed_ at the end of her statement and went over to the lane next to Haruka.

Taking only a brief examination, Haruka observed Sakura. Noticing his expression, Sakura greeted, "Hey, twice in two days, huh?" She paused, silently thanking Haru for not prying the day before. "Looks like the student challenges the master."

He simply replied, "I don't care about my time."

"But you do know that if I win, I won't let you live it down." Sakura teased, rubbing her shoulder against his in provocation. He only gazed at her before readying up on the stand.

Sakura followed him and asked, "Gou-chan, mind counting it off?" the red-head nodded, getting her own whistle ready.

The starting whistle permeated the air and the two were off in a heated race. Haruka had the better start and his pace was only getting faster. The gap started off large, but by the time Haruka wall-kicked there was already a good ten second delay between them. However, Sakura was not one to lose and opted for more dolphin kicks under the water to catch up. While in competition this would be illegal, there was nothing official about this race.

Rin gazed at the race before him. Haruka was his long-time childhood rival, but he never raced against the pink-haired spit fire before. Haruka was a monster in the water, Rin knew the winner before the two even got in. She was clearly putting up a fight, he smirked at her otherwise illegal techniques. While Rin couldn't officially approve of her actions, he smiled at her determination to win.

A slap on the wall was followed by another about a few seconds later, causing Sakura to yell, "Fuck me in the ass."

Rin's brief look of admiration quickly transformed into one of shock. Damn, she sure has a mouth on her, he thought. Sousuke was only confused and asked what Sakura said in English.

"Let's just say, she has a dirty mouth."

"Have you been practicing at all?" Haru asked from the lane next to her.

Her frown was prominent, "I was hoping the gap wouldn't be _that_ large." Haruka scoffed lightly, "Hey! I'll have you know that I've won more tournaments than probably anyone else here."

"Well yeah, I only started again last year." Haruka countered, causing Sakura to lift a playful fist at the boy as he was hoisted out.

Right after, Sakura was lifted out of the pool by the helping hand of Makoto, who offered a friendly _good job_ and a handshake. Having none of it, she dragged his hand forward into a hug. "So…" The brunette started.

He was an entire head tall than her and Sakura had to take a small step back to get a good look into his olive eyes, "So, I guess I have some explaining to do."

"That would be appreciated." Makoto replied, happy that the girl seemed much better than the day before.

"How about we talk about this over dinner?" She offered. He only blushed in response, and once realizing the implications, she shared a similar facial expression. "Not like that! I meant like, all of us." She motioned to the other Iwatobi students.

Once separated, "Good job, Sakura-chan!" Nagisa latched onto her arm, happy to see his old friend still swimming. "And I'd love to!" Nagisa replied before pushing another cobalt-haired swimmer in front of her. "This is Rei-kun, he's another member of the Iwatobi swim club."

"Nice to meet you in person, Rei-san." She offered a hand for him to shake.

Rei took the hand willingly before questioning, "Wait, in person, what does that mean?"

Sakura made eye-contact with Gou, smiling slightly before returning back to the conversation at hand. "It doesn't matter," She raised a hand above and behind her head, "You guys doing anything after practice?"

Gou interrupted on behalf of her boys, "No! And even if they were, I can guarantee Nagisa and I will drag them along."

"It's a hepta-date!" Sakura winked, getting ready to swim again. "Ready to go again, Haruka-senpai?"

Rin only wondered what the hell her history was with the Iwatobians and sauntered over to where his sister was standing, "What's up, Onii-chan?"

"How do you know Sakura?"

She used her pointer-finger slowly to poke her chin in wondering. Remembering where Sakura suddenly appeared, Gou explained, "She joined the swim club one summer while you were in Australia."

It seemed Rin's first suspicions were right, and he couldn't help but wonder what could have happened if he did not leave for Australia. Would he have taught Sakura how to swim?

"You think she's cute, don't you?" Gou teased as she playfully nudged his arm.

"Don't be stupid!" He blushed and pushed her back. "I was just wondering."

Gou didn't buy his excuses, and simply replied, "We're having dinner tonight as a group if you want to join us."

Hesitating slightly, Rin eventually replied, "Sousuke and I will join you guys." And walked away to gather everyone. "Hopefully you're all warmed up, we'll have a 400 meter medley. You have five minutes to make four teams of four," he paused, "Or else."

Fearing for their lives and the possible laps that might follow, the members of the Samezuka team quickly sprang into action. Momotarou ran and grabbed Sakura's hand, "I want a winning team and you will definitely be on it!"

Momo was looking around for Ai, but could not find the boy in sight. Spotting the grey-head, he was off to the side dictating instructions to some other first-years, a timer in hand. It seemed he was going to be the one to count off the start. Rin grabbed Momo's shoulder while he was distract and forced the two younger ones into his line next to Haru's. "We're not losing this one, you hear me?" Rin stated, aimed at the Iwatobians.

"That's not fair! Sakura-chan should be on our side!" Nagisa yelled.

"Come here guys," Rin summoned his team into a circle, "Momo will start the backstroke. Sakura will go next with the breaststroke, followed by Sousuke's butterfly. I'll take the last leg against Haru." They nodded in agreement, forming a line in the correct order.

It seemed as if the others were not aware of the obvious handicap they were taking, and Sakura asked, "Isn't this a little unfair?" They only gazed at her in question, "Well, it would probably be better if Nitori joined and I took the time. Since, y'know, not usually included in this category…"

"What do you mean?" Momo asked.

"I mean you all are different than me. Y'know?" Sakura beat around-the-bush, not wanting to outright say that she was not a _peen-wielder._

"Where's that usual confidence?" Rin asked teasingly, "Or are you all talk?"

"No! I mean, obviously Haruka and the others are in a completely different league then I am…"

"Don't worry Sakura-chan!" Momotarou consoled, "Rei-san only learned how to swim last year, there's no way he could even be close Sousuke-senapi."

Rin and Sousuke engaged in a conversation with Haru and Makoto, leaving the other two Samezuka students to themselves. Sakura looked over to Momo who was smiling down at her, not saying anything.

"Don't give me that look," She teased, playfully pushing his arm. "But thanks, you helped get me out of that rut."

"Nah, Sakura-chan did that all by herself," Momo replied, "I just reminded you of why swimming is the best."

Sakura smiled and gave him a small hug, of course there were people that cared about her. How could she possibly think there wasn't? It did not matter how many, just how genuine. And for the few close-friends she had, Sakura was grateful. Squeezing back, Momo beamed brightly at the girl in his arms.

This was short-lived when Rin finally noticed and grabbed the boy off. "Stop suffocating her."

"She initiated the hug!" Momo defended, Rin looking towards her in question. She only nodded and he let go of the first-year.

"Fine, you two are perfect together." Rin huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. Sousuke sighed at the display. Looks like they were back to square one.

Sakura gave one final squeeze around Momo before chuckling and wrapping her arms around the jealous Shark's waist. "Thank you too." He attempted to push her off, trying to shield her from his blushing face. She, of course, saw this and pinched Rin's cheek. Smiling, she added, "You're so cute when you're jealous."

Said shark was immediately on the defense and pushed both her face and body away. However, he was used to doing this to boys. The girl in question was unused to his physical abuses at this level and found herself being shoved over and into the pool.

Realizing his mistake way too late, Rin rushed to grab her only to see his crush saved by Sousuke. He grabbed her wrist and forced him against his chest. Sakura quickly blushed at the sudden contact and this did not go ignored by either of them.

"Eh?" Rin was motioning angrily at his best friend, not wanting Sousuke to touch her.

"Both of you are idiots." Sousuke noted out-loud, before pushing the girl back over to Rin.

"I'm not a volleyball! Stop passing me around!" Sakura yelled before sitting down behind the group, angry at her idiots she called teammates.

 _This._ This is what she missed. Maybe not the teasing and pushing, but the comradery that came with having a team.

After a few minutes of deliberating, Rin turned to the other lanes, "Alright bitches! You better be ready now."

Momo and Makoto dropped into the water, getting ready to race. Sure this was not official, but the rivalry between the two schools was so strong, there was no way either one was willing to lose.

The whistle signaled and the two boys set-off. Momo had strong, quick dolphin kicks under the water, but Sakura knew that Makoto's strength was in his stroke. For once, Sakura's nervousness was evident. She did not want to be the reason why they lost, but it seemed like they were leaving her no other choice. Trying to mask her anxiety, Sakura teased her friends, "Sorry boys, I don't plan losing today."

"Looks like I'm off first, Sakura-chan." Nagisa replied before diving into the water. A second later, said girl dove behind him after Momo slapped the wall.

The gap between the two swimmers was small, but continually widening with every stroke. Sakura couldn't help but have her pride take an obvious hit. Sure, she had a justifiable drawback, but being personally included in a relay showed Rin and the other's faith in her. Sakura was only now being included in a team, she wasn't about to ruin that at the first opportunity.

Pushing harder than before, Sakura only hoped Sousuke was feeling up to actually trying today. Said man was cracking his neck, calculating how much time until Sakura hit the wall. He knew he could overtake Rei with ease even if the gap was large. Sakura was pushing herself with her rough style and Sousuke massaged his shoulder absent-mindedly while watching her.

Nagisa hit the wall first with Sakura trailing behind by a few seconds. Rin could only smirk at the girl's ability when a little competition was involved. He knew that there was no way she could beat Nagisa, but she definitely tried. "Go Sousuke!" Sakura yelled, watching the agile man dive in after her.

"Awesome swimming, Sakura-chan," Nagisa commented as he offered a helping hand to said girl, but returned his attention to the race at hand.

Sakura watched Sousuke's agile butterfly stroke. It was clear he was not straining himself, but there was still a slight hesitation on his right arm. _What the hell_ , she thought. It probably was nothing, Sousuke was always working-out so maybe he was sore or something.

The gap was dead-even and the two free-style swimmers were off. Placing an arm in the nook of Sousuke's elbow as he passed, she silently thanked him for being so _damn_ fast. The two held a small moment of understanding, but returned to the race at hand. The two teams now screaming at the top of their lungs, Sakura could only wonder if every race they had was this _intense._

In the end, both swimmers hit the wall at the same time and it was undistinguishable who finished first. "Damn Haru, you haven't changed a bit." Sakura commented as the two rivals high-fived.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So there's me and Nagisa doing eighty in a thirty-five and he goes right through the police blockade. I tell him to stop. He tells me there's something in the trunk. Ha," Makoto pauses, "It was pretty much the best birthday ever." Sakura could only blink in surprise at Mako's story.

"Wha-" The pink-haired girl was rendered speechless by the story and continued dragging on the question that she couldn't exactly finish.

That was until there was a pinching feeling at her side, "Sakura-chan! Are you even paying attention?" Gou asked, "It looks like you dozed off a little."

Sakura blinked multiple times before stating in English, "My imagination is weird as fuck." Gou only questioned what the hell she was saying, while Rin raised an eyebrow at her statement.

The Iwatobian team plus the three Samezuka students were currently at a circular table, deciding to eat out at a restaurant after practice. "I knew that already, you still in denial?" Rin asked back in English.

She pouted playfully before demanding back in Japanese, "Why are you so mean?"

"Why are you so damn annoying?" He spit back. She only waved the question off and returned herself to the table's conversation.

"So how have you guys been?" Sakura asked, directing the question to those clad in blue jackets.

Makoto and Nagisa shared a look before the brunette opted to asking, "I think we're more curious at how you ended up at Samezuka."

"I'll give you the short version. I was in California one minute and the next I was in last place at nationals." She shrugged, "So my step-dad thought it best to pull me out before I got worse. He just happens to be the dean of Samezuka Academy."

Both Rin and Sousuke were unbelieving of this explanation. From what they saw, it seemed like Mr. Kawashima cared over Sakura's well-being, despite whatever she claimed. Mako, however, being the gentleman he is, comforted the girl, "It's alright, as a team we were disqualified at regionals last year."

"How about the year before?"

"Our club only just started last year." Makoto smiled sheepishly.

"Well, for a new club you guys have definitely gone far." She offered praise before pausing, "If only I started swimming earlier, I could have been better," Sakura confessed.

"But you've already progress so well." Gou stated her observation from that morning.

"Yeah, well you have my teacher to thank for that." Sakura lifted her glass in the direction of Haruka.

"I would be interested in that story," Rei started, "Of how you all met."

"It was at Iwatobi Swim club where she almost drowned." Haruka, offering a condensed version, explained, "Makoto gave her CPR. I taught her how to swim."

"That's kind of like Rei's story, isn't it?" Gou teased, nudging the boy at what happened the last school-year. He only blushed before turning away.

"Has anything else changed over the last few years?" Sakura asked, however was fully caught up thanks to the texts that Gou and her were exchanging. Instead, the two girls were conspiring together and probed for information, "How is the girlfriend front?"

Simultaneously, water was choked on and shy looks were thrown around the table. Nagisa and Rei shared a certain type of expression, refusing to respond. Makoto looked briefly at Haruka before averting his gaze. Rin, noticing this, was only more suspicious, "Wait, do you guys have girlfriends?"

"Well, maybe not _girl_ friends…" Nagisa murmured, earning a harsh elbow to the stomach by Haruka.

"Remember that the only difference between girl friend and girlfriend is the little space in between called the friend-zone." Sakura teased, misunderstanding what Nagisa said. The blonde only burst out into laughter, the reason why, she didn't know.

"I don't think that's what he meant," Rei corrected, unable to stop himself.

"Then what did he mean—"

"Anyway!" Mako quickly interrupted Sakura, before she continued down that train of thought, "What about you, huh? Anyone on your front?"

Sakura only waved off his question, "I have more important things to focus on, like the Olympics." This gained Rin's attention, it seemed as though she was instead a strange combination of his entire friend group – including himself. He only guessed that she would continue competitive swimming, but it seemed they had similar goals. "What about you Gou-chan?"

Gou's eyes widened in surprise, "What?"

"You're undoubtedly a pretty girl," Sakura started, "So who caught your eye?" She wiggled her eyebrows around.

Suddenly, Rin's interest turned into anger, how dare this strange girl accuse his innocent sister of having a crush on someone? But the look on the younger Matsuoka's face was enough to silence him, and that made him outwardly seethe.

"Who the hell is it?!" Rin demanded. Gou only held her hands over her eyes, not wanting to meet her brother's eyes.

 _You double-crossed me, Sakura-chan!_ Gou exclaimed in her head.

Realizing she was not getting an answer right at this second, Sakura relented and placed a hand on Rin's shoulder, "Relax, I'm just teasing." She attempted to subdue his anger. He only jerked her hand off and returned back to his meal.

"Just teasing my ass," He replied. A comfortable silence reigned over the table, and Gou let out a sigh of relief. Sneaking a small peak at Sousuke, she noticed that he was looking back at her. Gou blushed momentarily, but quickly mollified it in hopes that her brother did not notice. Sousuke only smiled at her actions, _so cute,_ he thought.

The members of Iwatobi couldn't help but notice something.

"That's strange." Nagisa commented, "Rin never chills for anyone, he's a pretty angry shark." Sousuke laughed lightly at this statement before looking over to a quiet Rin.

"What are you talking about?" The shark asked.

"Yeah, if he's a shark… I didn't know they were such softies." Sakura teased, earning herself a glare.

"Maybe he's only affectionate around you." Nagisa taunted back, deciding to turn the tables on the one who brought up this subject. "You guys are so cute together!"

Rin felt an impending headache, not wanting to be pulled into their teasing, "I agree." Sousuke commented, causing Rin and Sakura to feel betrayed at his comment.

"You too, Sousuke-chan?" Nagisa questioned, gaining a nod, "So it must be true!"

"Sousuke, don't lie!" Sakura yelled at her roommate, offended that he turned on them so quickly.

"What? I made it pretty obvious that I think you guys are cute together." Sousuke defended.

"Yeah, but that's just teasing!" Sakura retorted, to which he nodded his head in disapproval.

Nagisa gasped in excitement, "Do I see the next potential couple?"

Rin only receded further back into his chair while glaring at the blonde, really _really_ not wanting to join in this foolish conversation. Sakura narrowed her eyes, willing to take up Nagisa's provocation. "So who was the first one, huh?" The blonde boy only sputtered, unsure how to respond, "You and someone else, I'm guessing?"

However, Rei was ready to back-up his [boy]friend, "Maybe you and Haruka-senpai!" Makoto coughed slightly, unsure where this accusation came from.

Nagisa gave a low high-five to the ebony-haired man, and continued, "Haru-chan only loves water, so he taught you how to swim so he could enjoy the two things he loved all at once!"

Haruka only blinked at this allegation before taking a sip of his green-tea. Under the table, his hand was tightly gripping Makoto's knee in reassurance. Mako only looked over to his [boy]friend, wondering why he initiated sudden contact in public. However, the words uttered out of Haruka's mouth gave the explanation, "That's not untrue." He stated simply.

Sakura was rendered speechless and Nagisa stood up in victory, happy that his team had his back. Rei, later joined by Nagisa, were letting out hearty, evil laughs. Haruka only smirked at the girl's frozen disposition. Makoto chuckled lightly at his team's antics.

Putting her hands up to signal she was surrendering, Sakura said, "I hate that you guys." Rin was unable to add to the conversation, unsure of what just conspired.

After finally enjoying a nourishing meal, the large group was breaking off into smaller conversations. Sakura gazed around to see Makoto and Haruka enjoying each other's presence with a few words thrown here and there. Nagisa and Rei were engaged in a rather loud discussion about the theory of humor. The smaller groups, or couples rather, Sakura inwardly joked, were obvious to others observing those at the table.

Gou moved her seat slightly close to Sousuke's, thanks to her pink-haired friend. As an apology for earlier, Sakura gained Rin's attention, yelling that she saw swimming gold-medalist Kosuke Kitajima outside in the window. With the shark's concentration on the window opposite of the table, Gou was able to subtly move her chair.

"So how are you Sousuke-kun?" She asked.

"Pretty much the same since yesterday," He replied, indicating that they were still texting on a daily basis. Looking down at the girl before him, Sousuke had to calm himself, remembering that best friend's little sisters were off-bounds.

"You're an asshole." Rin stated, realizing he had been tricked and there was not a gold-medalist in sight. _Well at least, not for now._ The red-head look over to Sakura, clearly not paying attention and had ignored his insult. Pulling Sakura out of her observations, Rin asked, "What are you smiling about? Finally gone crazy?"

It was obvious, to her at least, who had crushes on who in this group. Sakura didn't mind her lonely state, but it did hurt that even at an all boy's school she couldn't land a boyfriend. Lying earlier, Sakura did care about her love-life, or lack of. It just seemed that nobody wanted to approach her.

Her smile turned into a pout, and Rin had to violently pat Sakura on the head to gain her attention, "And now why are you frowning?"

"No reason."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I love EXO so much it hurts. Carry on.**

"Okay, we'll meet back here in an hour."

It was finally the weekend and Rin could take the first-years out to formally try-on bathing suits. With the upcoming perfectuals, the team could use every advantage they could use over Iwatobi, which included suits slim enough to be one with your body.

Sakura tagged along with her friends to a department store dedicated to sports-ware not too far away, with small intentions of buying a new one. Sousuke reasoned the same way. Rin was perusing through various swimsuits, holding some up in the light as if it would help. Ai followed closely behind.

She held up a large bodyskin swimsuit with a black and purple butterfly pattern into Sousuke's line of sight, "This one is perfect for you."

He immediately snatched it away and placed it back on the rack, "You're an idiot." He shot the insult at one of the two people that used it the most.

She was about to respond but the two heard a particularly loud yell of, "Gou-san!" And knew they had to find Momo fast, before Rin killed him.

"Huh?" Gou gasped, startled and dropping the object in her hand to turn to the bright-orange young man basically screaming at her.

"Don't you remember me?" He asked.

"Um. Aren't you Captain Mikoshiba's younger brother Kintarou—"

"Momotarou!" He corrected politely, not at all phased that she did not remember his name. If anything, his heart was surging that his crush even remembered his face! "Mikoshiba Momotarou! I'm a first year at the Samezuka Swim Team! My specialty is backstroke! My hobyy is hunting for stag beetles! The biggest one I've caught was eight centimeters! My favorite kind of spaghetti is vongole—"

Rin was grasping Momo with his arm in a headlock, none too gently. The rest of the crew behind him, Ai was closing his eyes in defeat, already done for the day. Sousuke glanced at his teammate, _slighty_ happy that his best friend retched Momo off of Gou. In an attempt to persuade Rin, Sakura was trying to free up the arm wrapped around the poor boy's neck.

"Onii-chan!" Gou greeted her brother, but was surprised to see everyone present. Rin explained their reason why, and Gou asked, "So you all came to buy bathing suits?

"Yeah. Are you shopping for some too? Where is everyone?" Rin asked back.

But Momo beat Gou to a response, flashing swimsuits in front of her and asking many questions. "Gou-san, what do you think of this one? Don't you think one is perfect for me?"

"Uh."

"You don't have to hold back. Call me Momo!" Sakura was scratching the back of her head, it was almost like Momo enjoyed being beaten up by Rin.

"Momo!" The red-headed gloomily yelled.

"Yessir!" He immediately backed away from his sister.

"How about this one, Momo-kun?" Nitori asked, holding up a cute speedo with little doggy prints. Momo was not amused.

Rin dragged Momo away, trying to return to the task at hand. He held up another, showing reasonable swimwear that would accommodate the backstroke swimmer's rough style. Momo analyzed it for himself, noting how light and thin the material was.

Meanwhile, Sakura saw the two groups breaking off. Rin was currently distracted, so the pink-haired girl decided to look for a bathing suit for herself and give some private time to Sousuke and Gou. She inwardly smirked, hoping that they would talk or something.

A couple of hours later, Sakura sent two text, demanding answers.

 _How was your small date today?_

 _Tell me what happened_ _ヽ_ _(_ _；▽；_ _)_ _ノ_

Sakura was unable to study for history and was thankful that Gou was a fast texter. Only a few seconds later, she replied.

 _Nothing, I went back to shopping. (_ _)_ _ゞ_

Slightly annoyed, Sakura sent back.

 _Ugh. You are so hopeless._ _（_ ಠ _益_ ಠ _)_

 **Xxxxxx**

It was rare for Rin to walk into the dorm and see either Sousuke or Sakura home. But in this case, they were both home and hunched over the former's desk. Or specifically, Sousuke sat concentrated on a book while Sakura was huddled around him.

"See English prepositions usually come before the objects at hand, but that isn't always true," Sakura was explaining slowly in her native English, "For example, if I say: The puppy is on the floor. What is the preposition?"

"On?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?" Sakura asked, trying to summon Sousuke's confidence.

"On!"

"There you go." She patted him on the head in praise, secretly happy since this would be the only time he was shorter than her. This was a once in lifetime chance to touch his hair and it always looked so damn _soft._ Returning back to the workbook in front of her, Sakura asked, "What about this one: At midnight, Haruka craved mackerel and a cold cup of water."

"At midnight?"

"So you see how it can be tricky sometimes," She continued patting him, "Here, you can do the rest of the page. Come back to me if you get confused."

Sakura took a step back to bump into the shark. Taken by complete surprise that someone else was in their room, Sakura let out a small _yelp_ and instantly gained Sousuke's attention. He was rapidly on his feet, ready to fight anyone that snuck into their room.

"Jesus Sakura, don't scare us like that," Rin teased, earning a glare from the girl. Once Sousuke relaxed, he laughed at the sound Sakura made earlier.

"I know Rin has a scary face—" Sousuke started.

"Hey!"

"—But come on, it's not that bad." He joked before returning to his desk.

"What are you even doing home? Aren't you still training Rei-san?" Sakura asked.

"Nah, yesterday was the last. He progressed pretty fast so I'm sure he can handle the rest." Rin held up the bag in front of him, bringing it to Sakura's attention, "I guessed your size, so here's what you're wearing tomorrow."

Remembering the announcement made that morning, Sakura attempted to slap it down to the floor, but Rin's grip was too tight. She simply replied, "There's no way in hell I'm wearing that."

"It's Samezuka tradition!"

"Because you're all boys in maid costumes!" Sakura argued.

"That just means the outfit would actually make sense on you." Rin countered, taking the dress out and shoving it over to her. "Anyway, you'll have to wear it or I'm kicking you off the team."

Sakura growled, but took it anyway, "There will never be a day that you don't abuse your power as captain."

"Just think of it as friendly retaliation."

Sakura only glared harder, "For what?" Rin only walked away from the conversation, ignoring her question and venturing towards his bed. "Fine, if he wants war. He's getting a war."

 **XXXXXXXXXXX**

The pink-haired swimmer's mind was filled with her impending doom all night. _Ugh, this is all Haruka's fault. Why'd he have to teach me how to swim?!_ Once morning came, Sakura made sure to get up last and use the bathroom, hoping the other two would leave before her.

Holding the dress up in the mirror, the costume made Sakura fume. It epitomized a pervert's dream in a lolita and she honestly did not want to do this. She had half the mind of not showing up at all or stealing Rin's butler outfit. _Ergh! If only he wasn't so much taller than me._ For a second, Sakura entertained the idea of quitting the swim team since it would make life so much easier. But that thought was quickly squashed since obviously, swimming was _life._

On her body, the dress did not look _too_ bad. Sakura was used to wearing a form-fitting racerback that pressed down on her chest. But now, it only accented her womanly features. The lack of swimming-cap was evident by the long tresses of wavy pink-hair that flowed over her shoulders. The outfit did not actually show any skin, but it was just the thought behind the outfit. It was just… so perverted!

"I could not hate this more." She muttered to the mirror before getting out of the bathroom.

Rin gave her a good look up and down, which she definitely noticed. He had to quickly shift his head away to the side, to stop the impending nose bleed.

Sakura looked at her two roommates. They always looked handsome, but their butler outfits highlighted their rather toned complexions. Sousuke always had an impressive body, but _damn._ Rin's red sash fit well with the tight black suit, which accentuated his muscular build. Blood was quickly rushing to her face, unable to fold down the impending blush. Sakura looked down, feeling rather inadequate in comparison to them.

Sadly, her two roommates hadn't left and ironically it seemed like they were waiting for her. "Wow." Sousuke was the first to say, "You look nice."

But Sakura didn't take his compliment seriously and stated, "I don't need you teasing me today." Before slamming the door open in obvious embarrassment and quickly sprinting down the hall. She wanted to restrict being seen at all and took the long route around campus to get to Samezuka's 'Maid Café from Hell.'

Every day, Sakura was reminded how beautiful the campus scenery was. The row of trees were stunningly blooming and she _really-_ really contemplated just not going today, maybe going for a picnic alone instead. Accepting her doom, she neared the tent and entered from the backside.

She overheard Rin already giving directions, beating her here. _Damn how long was I walking?_ He was assigning every single person a positon, as waiter, cook, or host. Sakura silently pleaded that he did not bring attention to her in the back, but Rin was calling people out by name.

"And Momotarou, you can host by the front." Rin's scarlet eyes made contact with her emerald ones in the back, "And whenever Sakura gets here, she'll join us in the front." He turned away.

Sakrua smiled since he didn't personally bring attention to her, but then quickly frowned when she realized her position. _In the front._ She'd have to walk past everyone else to where the hosts' post is and then stay there to greet the multiple people coming in.

"You mother fucker." She whispered, he definitely was starting a war. Deciding not to be some sputtering mess, Sakura held her chin up before walking to the front. "Excuse me."

Almost instantly, the crowd of maids parted and looked at the said girl. "Sakura-chan!" Momotarou exclaimed, grabbing her hand, "We're together in the front!" And ran off with the girl.

Rin watched the two run off together through narrowed eyes.

With his excitedly fast pace, Sakura was panting to keep up with Momo. Once they were in position, she let go of his hand and stated, "Thanks Momo, but I overheard what Rin said. I didn't need you to run me over here."

Momo blushed and stuttered through his words, "Yeah, but I just didn't want anyone to see you like this."

Sakura smiled back, his affections were so cute! Finally taking notice of his state of dress, her smile only deepened. "No! Wait, don't look at me, Sakura-chan!" He attempted to hold his hands over her eyes, but she only kept moving around to see him.

"Don't worry, you're pretty cute too." She nudged his shoulder and his blush only increased, "I can't wait until Gou-chan visits." Sakura teased.

His smile only turned into a frown of pure horror, "No! Did you invite her?!" Sakura winked in response, "You're so evil Sakura-chan!"

Rin approached the two other hosts and proceeded to give them instructions on what to do. Once that was done, Momo was furiously texting away on his phone, Sakura was not sure to who. Now that the three of them were alone, Sakura glanced over to where the shark was standing. _Damn, he still looks good._

Once Rin's head starting turning towards Sakura, she quickly whipped her gaze away in hopes he didn't see her oogling. _God, he looks so hot. So hot, but so crazy._

Sakura's inner conflict was evident on her face and Momo had to ask, "Something wrong, Sakura-chan?" Bringing Rin's attention fully on her.

"Nopedon'tworryI'mfine." She quickly spit out in a frenzy.

Soon, the Maid Café opened and the experience was not entirely horrible. Students she recognized from her classes visited the swimming tent, most showering her with praise. Amongst the plentiful compliments, Sakura finally recognized that she looked cute. Maybe this was the exact pick-me-up she needed? Glimpsing towards her captain, she had to thank him later for causing all this.

Meanwhile, said shark was inwardly boiling, ready to explode. It seemed as though every teenage boy who visited were suddenly admirers of the pink-haired girl and felt the need to gawk and spit compliments non-stop. It didn't help that Sakura was relishing in the attention, blushing and teasing back.

"Looks like you're enjoying this." Rin commented.

"It's a nice change," She replied, he gave her a surprised look, "What? No, I do not like being treated like one of the guys all the time." Before Rin could respond, a certain blonde interjected.

"Sakura-chan! You look so cute." Nagisa exclaimed, seeing his female friend, "But it is disappointing that Rin is a butler."

"Hey," Makoto greeted, "We're here to hang-out."

Momo instantly ran away, seeing the Iwatobi team. "Don't look at me Gou-san!"

Instantly, Nagisa gave chase and playfully lifted Momo's dress, revealing his swimming trunks. "It's not beautiful at all!" Rei exclaimed at the sight.

"It's not fair that first and second years have to be maids while only the third years get to be butlers!" Momo yelled, causing the Iwatobi team to briefly think of Rin last year, wearing the same outfit.

 _Then that means that last year… Rin was also…_ Sensing their train of thought, Rin yelled, "Don't look at me like that!" The boys laughed at the thought while Sakura realized that even the likes of her captain were forced through such embarrassment. Rin continued, "Well, it's almost breaktime, so take a load off while you wait. Ai."

Ai understand the command, and signaled the others maids for the welcome, "Welcome home, masters!" While the sight was inwardly funny, the Iwatobians could not help but be outwardly mortified.

Being directed to a table, only Rin and Sakura were left. "Hey, take over the front, will you?" Rin asked, receiving a nod. Sakura handled being host with ease, loving the many compliments and welcomes that she was accepting.

"Who are you?" A very large, very cute red-headed asked.

"The same question can go to you."

"My name is Seijuro. I was captain of Samezuka's swim team last year."

"Oh." Sakura replied, unsure how to respond.

"And you are…?"

"Oh, I'm Sakura." She offered a hand which he readily took, "I'm a member of the swim team now." She noted his confused expression and only gave him a raised eyebrow in response.

"How is that possible?"

"Oh, duh!" Sakura let her outward realization show, "Sorry, I'm the dean's daughter. I just came back from America."

"How unfortunate," Seijuro noted, "If only you showed up last year, we'd have gotten to know each other." He winked flirtatiously.

Sakura was taken aback at how this captain was the opposite of her current one. He was so friendly and teasing! She could only wonder what it would have been like if she showed up a year early.

"You're pretty cute." Seijuro complimented, "Are you a friend of Gou-kun's?"

Hesitating slowly, "Yes I am," Sakura replied. Taking fully-in his appearance and extrovert personality, she noted how he was similar to a certain Mikoshiba. "Just saying, you might have some competition."

Seijuro's eyes widened and he asked, "Who?"

"Another guy on the team, very similar to you."

"Is his name Momotarou?"

Sakura lifted an eyebrow in confusion, how did he know his name already from one question? "Yeah, that's him."

Seijuro sighed, "… Of course it is."

"What's wrong?"

"That's my younger brother." Sakura's face contorted in disbelief, Seijuro seemed so much taller than his younger brother. But taking a step back, she noted the similar eye-color that the two only seemed to share.

"He's so cute!" Sakura decided to tease, "It must be in the genes." Seijuro's was previously peering into the café, probably looking for his younger brother. However, his gaze quickly snapped to the young girl in front of him once she started teasing.

He leaned against the podium and took a handful of hair to twirl between his fingers, "You're one to talk, look at you beautiful." Seijuro stated as he looked her up and down.

Usually, Sakura was the one to tease and no one matched her. It was nice to have an equal counterpart. "Look at your muscles, you must work out a lot?" Sakura winked.

Seijuro, not missing a beat, whipped out one of his guns to place it near her head, "Want a feel?"

Sousuke was not lost, he would never admit. But once he found the main grounds of the festival he decided to stick around before venturing out to find the others. That was, until he saw his already claimed female roommate flirting with another.

"Who is this?" Sousuke asked once approaching the two.

Sakura, seeing her friend, slightly nudged away from the red-head, "Hey to you too. This was the Samezuka captain before we got here."

"Wow, look at all these new people." Seijuro commented.

"It was nice to meet you." Sakura peered up at him through innocent eyes, "Gou isn't here at the café right now, she's out wandering."

"I'll be back later then." Seijuro replied, nodding a farewell at the two before walking away.

Sousuke looked over at his friend and asked, "What game are you playing?"

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"Do you like Rin?" Sakura immediately held her hands in defense and denied his question repeatedly. "You can't lie to me." Sousuke stated, smirking as he walked away.

Seijuro did eventually come back and slipped her a phone number, to her amusement. Sakura was unsure if she would call him or not, but it was funny how quickly her life would change. Soon enough, the am shift was over and it was time to switch. She was not assigned an afternoon position and Sakura was free to roam around the Samezuka festival.

"Now where did they go…" Sakura thought out-loud before spotting Gou not too far away. Once Sakura got closer, she realized the red-head was wearing a much _too_ familiar jacket that was obviously way _too_ big on her.

"Hi Gou," Sakura greeted once she was behind her. Said girl smiled back. "Nice jacket."

Gou instantly reddened, "Sousuke offered it to me!"

"Is that supposed to make it better?" Sakura teased further.

"No, wait!" Gou took a breather, "Somehow I got hit with a watergun and he offered it to me."

"How chivalrous," Sakura commented, raising an eyebrow, "Maybe he had to cover you before he saw _too_ much."

"It's not like that!" Gou yelled, "And where is Rin, huh?"

"I honestly don't know. He kind of disappeared when the Iwatobi team showed up."

Gou nodded in understanding, "You know how they are," Sakura only looked confused, "Y'know, the bromance."

Sakura chuckled lightly before putting her arm in Gou's. "Well, at least this gives time for just the two of us."

Gou teased, "Are you asking me out on a date?" Sakura only laughed at the question.

"No, I still need to finish that conversation about who you like." Sakura recalled, "Remember, from that dinner?"

Gou's eyes widened in surprise before attempting to change the conversation, "So, you want to get some mackerel or something? I heard there's a special bread around here somewhere…"

"Nope! There's no way you're getting out of this!" The two laughed together, going from stand to stand and enjoying the festival. Gou commented that maybe her swim team should have a tent like Samezuka's, there's no doubt that many of the female populace would agree with her.

The sun was soon setting and the two found themselves sitting amongst a crowd facing a bonfire. "So Sousuke, huh?"

Deciding that she was caught red-handed, "… Yeah." Gou admitted.

"I ship it." Sakura teased, "I better not come back to my dorm seeing you two doing something dirty." Gou blushed until she was completely red in the face, denying that she would engage in such an action.

"He's just so perfect. That body, his personality," Gou went on dreamily, "There's no way he'd notice me."

Sakura's face crunched up, "What are you talking about?"

"He's a soon-to-be Olympic swimmer. He's already ranked as one of the top ten butterfly swimmers in the country! And here I am, I'm just his best friend's younger sister." Gou thought wistfully as she stared at the far away fire.

"He's also the guy who texts you regularly and offered you his jacket." Sakura rebutted, causing Gou to fall more in thought. "Listen to me right now, you're the only girl I've ever seen him talk about. He doesn't give anyone else a second thought. And before you regret anything, he's over there right now." She pointed to a large group that was sitting closer to the fire, "There's no harm in trying."

"You should take your own advice." Gou replied.

"Excuse me?!"

"I know you like Rin, don't try to deny it." Gou obviously knew, Sakura had the same look in her eyes that she had when she looked at Sousuke.

Knowing she was caught, Sakura replied, "Yeah, I won't." But paused for a brief second, "But the difference is that I know how that conversation will go. He told Sousuke a while ago that I'm nothing more than a friend to him. So I have to respect his opinion and his space. I can't force him to like me." Sakura gave a sad smile.

"That can't be true."

"It is I heard it." Sakura stated gloomily, "But Sousuke, I'm so sure he has feelings for you."

Deciding to take her advice, Gou stood up with sudden confidence. She talked to Sousuke tons of times before, spending multiple calls, hang-outs, and even Christmases with him. But suddenly, simply walking over seemed like an infinite hurdle. Giving her friend a push, Sakura snapped Gou out her train of thought and offered a thumbs-up.

Sakura watched as Gou neared the group and called out to Sousuke, jacket in hand. She could see from her spot that Sousuke nodded in disapproval, putting the jacket back onto Gou and patting the spot next to him.

Feeling inwardly triumphant, Sakura stretched out and laid down on the grass. She was not feeling up to joining the group, at least not right now.

"Hey." An upside-down Takuya greeted before taking the seat next to her.

"What's up?"

"Just wanted to say you looked really nice this morning." He complimented, gaining a blush from the girl. However, while Sakura was enormously grateful for all the flatteries, the one person that mattered the most had yet to say anything.

"Thanks, I was really against it last night," Sakura replied.

"Why? You looked gorgeous." Sakura's blush only increased and she had to avert her gaze away from him. "You always do, it just took me this long to realize." He murmured, Sakura not hearing this comment.

"Well, thank you for the compliment. It's a nice change."

"You definitely deserve more." It seemed as though Takuya was the smoothest _motherfucker,_ and Sakura's blush did not fail to increase. She was afraid that her face was going to explode from pure giddiness, and she failed to think of a teasing statement back.

Gou looked back to see Sakura's red face while a swimmer she could barely recognize seemed to be giving her praises. The pink-haired girl did not look uncomfortable, but she definitely did not look relaxed. Gou laughed as Sakura faced the wrath of karma, now facing her own onslaught of teasing.

Sousuke noticed this and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Just Sakura being herself."

This gained Rin's attention, who asked, "Where is she?" Gou pointed over to the girl, who was now covering her face, unable to conceal how truly embarrassed she was.

Takuya finally laid it all out on her and asked, "So would you like to go to dinner sometime?"

Sakura's eyes widened beyond anything she had ever done before, surprise evident on her face. Unable to think of a coherent sentence, Sakura had to compose her before rapidly asking, "You want to what? Why? Huh?"

"You're cute." Takuya patted her head, "My friends are calling me over, so I'll ask you again soon." He warned her, walking away as Sakura leveled her hurried breathing by placing a fist onto her chest.

"Oh my god." Sakura whispered before Gou grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

Leading her to the swimming group, Gou sat Sakura down between Rin and herself, with a Sousuke on Gou's other side, "What was that?" She drew out every word, eager to hear the gossip.

Sakura looked worried, as if she was still trying to compose herself. Taking a look over to Gou before answering, "… He asked me out."

Rin was stunned, how dare someone ask her out when he made it perfectly clear to Yuta? Or maybe he didn't make it clear… It wasn't like they were dating or anything, but he thought it was still an obvious claim at this point. Sousuke knew this could only lead to something bad and laid down with his arms behind his head.

Meanwhile, Nagisa lifted a hand, offering a high five to pink-haired swimmer, "You go girl!"

Sakura only stared at the hand while Gou took the high-five for her. "Finally, you get some action."

Rin looked at his sister in horror, "And are you getting action?" Rin asked.

"No." Gou admitted, but whispered lowly, "But I'm closer than she is."

Rin, hearing this, yelled, "Excuse me?!"

"Nothing, nothing." Gou waved her hands in front of her, "So who was that anyway?"

"That was Takuya, right?" Makoto asked.

"Who's that?" Nagisa asked, "Her knight in shining armor?"

"What is it with you pairing me with people?" Sakura directed at the blonde.

"You're just so easy to tease." He retorted, gaining a raised eyebrow by Sousuke. She was always the one teasing others, but it seemed like it was finally the opposite.

"He's just another swimmer on our team." Sakura scowled, before saying, "He was mean to me when I first arrived, but he's been slowly making up for it." She was unsure at what she was saying. This was _Takuya,_ the very same guy who challenged her to a race. Sure, he changed recently, but in no way did she feel more than friendship with this guy.

"Are you going to accept?" Gou asked, bumping a shoulder against hers.

"We're barely even friends," Sakura started, "But I mean, he did only ask about dinner. Not a relationship, I don't see the harm in going out just as friends."

Sousuke saw her line of reasoning, but chimed in saying, "I don't think that's what he meant."

"Are you sure, maybe he's a causal type of person?" Sakura asked to which Sousuke only frowned. Nagisa was waving his eyebrows.

Sakura was thoughtful for a second, before adding, "We'll see." Peeking at her shark, his eyes were closed and he was leaned back, it seemed as though he was not interested in the conversation at all. Slightly hurt, Sakura took this as his indifference to her possibly dating.

The conversation soon took a turn, leaving behind Sakura to her thoughts. Gou was planning the Iwatobi festival for the next year, Rei and Nagisa chiming in occasionally. Taking out her phone, Sakura looked over to the swim team's chat and found Takuya's personal number that he gave a while ago at one of the team meetigns.

 _To: Takuya_

 _This isn't a no, but this isn't a yes._

 _How about a friendly lunch?_

 _To: Sakura_

 _Like, at school?_

 _To: Takuya_

 _It doesn't matter…_

 _To: Sakura_

 _How about at school tomorrow?_

Sakura wondered why he was so eager. Surely at school, they would be teased by almost all of their mutual friends. Not to mention, Sousuke and Rin would be there… Sakura set the phone down on her thigh while she sat outstretch on the grass.

Rin, seeing her hesitation, grabbed the phone right out of her hand. She attempted to snatch it back, but he held it out of reach. When she playfully punched him, he grabbed at her stomach to tickle and subdue her. Sakura was immediately begging for mercy as Rin took this time to read the messages.

"You're really saying yes?" Sakura only bit her lip, unsure.

"I don't know." Sakura shrugged, "I don't have a reason not to."

Rin paused before taking her hand in his, "What if I gave you a reason?"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So, I had to google Japanese schoolyears. Swimming is a first semester sport (April-July), summer break, then second semester (September-December), then a third semester (January-March) [I FORGOT JAPAN HAS 200 DAYS OF SCHOOL] so it makes sense why Rin and Nitori still shared dorms at the beginning of season 2, since Seijuro was still attending Samezuka even though his season was over. At least I think? Idk the anime is pretty silent on like dates in time.**

Following Rin's question, he smirked at Sakura's confused face. Before she could question his intentions, he changed the subject and rejoined the conversation of the others. Sakura was left only to her thoughts.

 _Could Rin possibly feel the same way?_ Sakura stole a glance at the man. He was beautiful in every way, with his personality and his appearance. Sure he could be a little prickly, but so could she. While Sakura threw a little inward party at the thought of them together, the idea was immediately squashed when she realized how much time they truly had left.

In a couple of days, perfectuals would come and go. Regionals would pass by. Nationals would be the end of the semester. And with this, summer break would start. Sure, in September Rin would still be the swim team captain. But it was simply a waiting game until the end of the third semester where he and the other third-years would retire.

Rin would leave, undoubtedly for a prestigious swimming college back in Australia while she was still stuck at Samezuka. Sousuke would likely do the same.

A dark aura clouded Sakura's thoughts for the rest of the night. Eventually, the Iwatobi and Samezuka groups had to share goodbyes. With a hug to Gou and a wave at the others, Sakura retreated back to the dorms with the rest of the Samezuka members.

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" Momo asked, nothing how quiet the usually sassy girl was. She simply nodded and continued on walking.

The conversation shifted, but Rin kept an eye on his girl. _His girl?_ He thought. It was not a completely random thought, since it was clear that there were feelings there. The only question was if it was mutual. Guessing from her reactions and her treatment to Rin and only Rin, he was almost certain his affections were not unrequited.

Momo and Nitori flopped back into their dormitory while the other three trudged further along the hallway. Once inside, the three retreated to their respective beds. Sakura was most obvious in her inability to sleep, moving around constantly. Rin and Sousuke were simply not tired enough.

Sakura, lying on her back to face the ceiling, voiced her concerns, "What do you guys plan on doing past high school?"

"Already sick of us?" Sousuke teased.

"No way!" Sakura instantly replied, "Summer break is going to roll by so quickly."

"Relax, we're still preparing for perfetuals. Our season still has so much time left." Sousuke reasoned.

"This is all just a ticking time bomb." Sakura explained, "You guys aren't going to be on the swim team anymore…"

"We'll be here next semester and until March. Our send-off isn't for a while."

"But it's not the same," Sakura countered, "Next semester, you'll be captain of a team whose season is over." Rin was silent at this statement, but Sousuke moved around above him in his bunk to face the girl.

"It's not like we'll stop swimming with Samezuka." Sousuke offered.

"But I mean, you'll be training for college. We'll have to make new relay teams and practice those instead." Sakura's voice was grim. "I won't have the same captain to unjustly make-it-rain laps." Rin scowled at her comment. "Besides, you guys will be in college mode. You'll be getting ready to enter the professional swimming lifestyle and forget all about me and the small, little swim team that you came from."

Rin was quick to respond, but Sousuke was even faster. "Don't be ridiculous."

Sakura ignored his comment and continued, "Sure, you'll practice at the pool but you won't be _on_ the swim team."

"How is that any different?" Sousuke asked, but his question went unnoticed.

"You guys are two of the few friends I have here and you'll be leaving soon." She attempted to subdue the voice crack, but it was evident to the two men, "You'll just be ready to move with your life at that point." Both boys were sitting up at this point, but Sakura was lazily laid across the foot of her bed and was unable to see their reactions.

"Shut up." Rin snarled, offended that she thought of him as so heartless.

"But it's true!" Sakura replied, tears ready at the edges. "You guys have so much of your life ahead of you. Why bother to remember what won't affect you anymore?"

Rin heard a shuffling above him before his best friend dropped down. Sousuke, not one for words but for actions, sauntered over to the girl and literally flipped her off the mattress.

"What the hell?!" Sakura rolled herself over to recover from the fall.

"And you call us idiots all the time!" Sousuke was also outraged, towering over her in his standing position. "Two years at Tokitsu High School was nothing compared to the semesters here at Samezuka."

"But—"

"No, you shut up this time." He interrupted, "I got to swim with my friends this year. No amount of competitive, cut-throat College swimming is going to make me forget about the last few weeks." Staring intently, Sousuke finally looked away from the girl on the floor to gaze at Rin.

"Then why?" Sakura asked, "Why is this so memorable?"

Sousuke paused before looking back into her emerald eyes, "Because this is genuine. I swim on a team right now. In a year, I'll be in a group of amazing swimmers who are all willing to kill each other to get to the Olympics. Nothing can replace compassion." He held out a hand for Sakura to take.

She willing grabbed it and threw her arms around the man. He was surprised, but accepted it and wrapped his arms tightly around her in response. She continued to tighten her arms around his neck and he inwardly grinned at how small she was. If he stood upright, Sousuke would surely lift her off the ground.

Of all strange things to think about, surely this was it, Sousuke noted. But most prominently, he wondered how could she possibly think that they would not care anymore? Of the two girls in his life, Sakura was one of his closest friends. The only other girl held a non-platonic place in his heart.

Rin narrowed his eyes at their embrace, slightly jealous that his friend was cuddling the object of his affections. Sure, Sousuke was his best friend. And sure, they were talking about an emotionally heavy subject, Rin could not help but feel a _tiny_ pang of jealousy. Before he could stop himself, Rin was retching the girl off of him and into his own arms.

"I care about you too." He stated, glancing down at the girl. Sakura gave a small smile before hugging him back. He was not as tall as Sousuke, but all that mattered was how the fluttering butterflies in her heart were now raging and exploring her entire body. Her reaction to Rin was instantaneous, nuzzling into the crook of his neck and appreciating the compassion that was emanating off of him.

Rin was so comfortable, however his best friend was feeling the exact opposite.

Sousuke gained their attention by grimacing out-loud, "You guys better not do anything while I'm around."

Sakura loosed her grip around Rin's middle to turn to the teal-eyed man, "Excuse you, but I didn't see you complaining when I was cuddling you." She paused before realizing, "And did you forget that you literally just flipped me?"

Sousuke crossed his arms before replying, "You wouldn't stop talking."

"If I had known you were the dominant type, I would've let you have your way a long time ago." Sakura hesitated before adding this comment. Sousuke immediately groaned and shared a look with Rin. The two were still sharing a half-hug.

"Keep the flirting between the two of you." Sousuke added one last time, before climbing back up his ladder. Sakura denied his comment and Rin sputtered in angry embarrassment. Sousuke paused at the top of ladder to peer at his friend, "Don't give me that look. I know you guys slept together."

Both roommates were startled and shoving away from one another, spreading the room in between them as Sousuke got comfy in his bed. Sakura would be lying if she said she was not disappointed at the sudden lack of Rin's arms around her. His warmth was so comforting, but he was so shy when it came to flirting. "What are you talking about?!" Rin yelled.

"Don't lie. I have pictures." Sakura could literally feel the smirk in Sousuke's reply, "If anything just try to stay quiet."

"!" Sakura was unable to reply, but had an embarrassedly furious look on her face. Rin was a blushing mess but shook his head to clear his thoughts. Before he could stop himself, he placed a hand on her cheek, she was just so cute when flustered.

"It's only 11:30, want to go out for a jog?" Rin asked, being profusely accepted. He grabbed her hand, and together headed out the door.

 **XXXXXXXXX**

"So…" Takuya started, the two awkwardly sitting across from one another at lunch.

To be honest, Sakura completely forgot about Takuya's request from the day before. Sousuke was finally opening up to her and she was so grateful to have been one of the few to see his emotional side. The silent jog with Rin after had her in a blissful glee and the red-head simply stayed on her mind all day. All of a sudden, she was sitting at lunch, waiting for Momo, when Takuya sat down.

"How was the rest of the festival?" He asked.

"It was nice to spend time with Gou, I rarely ever see her." Sakura replied, curt since his knowledge of the Matsuoka sibling was limited. She did not know a damn thing about Takuya in reality.

The two shared a long, awkward eye contact, before Sakura looked away embarrassed. "So." She drew out.

"Have we already ran out of things to talk about?" Takuya joked.

"No way!" Sakura exclaimed, not wanting to scare off her first pursuer, "I mean. Swimming, right?"

"Yeah, you're such an amazing swimmer." Takuya complimented, "Sorry that I was so jealous."

"What?"

"Oh come on," Takuya explained, "The only reason I tried to hate you was not because you're a girl. It was the fact that you are one of the best swimmers I've seen. If you were a dude, I would have probably acted the same way."

"Oh," Sakura blushed at the compliment, "Thanks, I guess."

"Seeing you swim, it makes me strive to do better. But, you have this natural talent that made me all crazy." Takuya continued, making Sakura's blush turn from pink to red. "It's hard to compete with someone who is so one with the water."

"You don't have to compliment me so much." Sakura looked him in the face before placing her hands on the table, trying to steady her now dizzying self-esteem. It was absolutely soaring.

He took this as an invitation and grasped the hands in his own, "But it's all true."

Sakura had to fight the instantaneous reflex to pull her hands away. Takuya was barely her friend and he was coming on way too strong. Putting on a fake smile, Sakura forgot what he said and simply replied with a, "Haha yeah."

Takuya misinterpreted this, believing she was a flabbergasted, blushing mess due to his advances. He tugged at one hand to hold it in his, intertwining the fingers.

Sakura was _definitely_ not comfortable. Sure she teased a lot, but there was absolutely no ammunition behind her words. Did she come off as a real flirt?

Her face morphed into one that a classic school-girl would categorize as a bashful look. But Sakura was feeling the complete opposite, like she had to settle things as friends or get the hell out of there before he made anymore advances.

When Sousuke and Rin first arrived at the cafeteria, the dark-haired man grabbed his best friend and directed them to an empty table. He simply stated that Sakura agreed to this lunch with Takuya and they must respect her decision. Rin was seething, did she not realize how much Rin was crushing on her?

Both men were able to detect Sakura's true feelings, the teal-eyed swimmer laughing at her situation. Rin, having enough of this, got up from his seat abruptly. Grabbing his lunch, he walked up to the girl and muttered _we have to talk about something urgent_ to the table.

Takuya narrowed his eyes, but before he could voice his displeasure, Sakura was already gathering her things to follow behind the captain. "Sorry Takuya, we'll have to continue this some other time!"

Rin scowled and grabbed her hand, dragging her outside and forcing her down with him underneath a cherry blossom tree. "Let's have lunch here." He finally said.

Sakura was momentarily outraged, "You forced me to have lunch with you?"

"I was saving you."

Sakura paused before scooching closer to him on the grass, "Thank you." She muttered out before taking a bite out of her sandwich. Rin ruffled her hair before leaning against the tree trunk, patting the ground next to him for her to take. Sakura complied, leaning lightly on the red-head.

 _This is the best!_ Sakura thought, enjoying his presence.

 **XXXXXXXXX**

"How excited are you for perfectuals tomorrow?" Momo asked his female friend, the two sitting together during history class. While Sakura was mostly taking advanced third year courses, most of her social studies classes in the past were of American nature.

"Bleh." Sakura commented, she did not want to jinx herself with confidence. "You better show Gou how far you've gotten."

"Don't worry about that!" Momo replied, "This otter has no intentions of losing." She could only gape at his outward self-assurance.

The rest of the day was filled with expectations for tomorrow. They did not swim, using the day before as a rest day for one's nerves for the upcoming occasion. Every single member of the team arrived on time, standing in two organized rows with their leader in front. Rin gave the usual pep-talk and a basic run-down of the events that were happening tomorrow in the morning and afternoon.

Everyone had a certain glint in their eyes, ready to prove themselves at an actual competition. There was so much hype in the air, it struck so much fear into the only girl. The last competition she participated in… Sakura shuddered at the memory.

She ended up getting dead-last amongst everyone who entered.

Sure, it was already at a national level. But Sakura lacked the sure confidence she used to have in a real competition. Having a bunch of boys who were in the exact same situation as her watching was one thing. Being surrounded by adults with expectations was another. Her entire future would be determined by a handful of races, as opposed to everyday at school. Sakura grimaced, the last time this happened, her future was filled with being the captain of the swim team back in America, a sophomore with crazy skill able to surpass the seniors. But all that went to hell.

Her giant loss caused her to move, cut-off all her friends, and lose the already minimal amount of respect her father held for her. _Of course,_ Sakura was incredibly nervous for tomorrow.

She was competing in most of the freestyle events (100, 200, and 400 meters) and the 100 meter butterfly. Sakura's front crawl had always been her safety, but considering she lost that at nationals but actually placed in butterfly, she figured why the hell not.

Rin's speech ended and Sakura inwardly cursed since she now had no idea what the itinerary was and would have to look it up for herself. The pool was unusually calm, the water laid flat with only the occasional slap against the side. Water was her friend, not her enemy, Sakura had to remind herself.

Everyone returned back into their respective dorms, except for Sakura. She sat and waited until everyone left and simply stared at the pool. She could not fail, there were no more re-does. If she were to be dead last again, there was nowhere to run.

Sakura had the privilege of enormous burden. So many people believed in her, her few loving teammates and her (even though she denied it) step-father. He would be there, watching in the stands like last time. She could not forget the look of absolute horror and disappointment splayed across his face. The pressure was stifling Sakura, as if the water was already filling her lungs and drowning her.

"Sakura-senpai!?" Nitori yelled/greeted, returning back to the pool alone to see if his lost _magazine_ was here.

"Hey, Nitori-kun." She greeted, but did not take her eyes off the pool.

"Something wrong?" Nitori asked.

"Are you nervous for tomorrow?" Sakura answered with a question.

"Of course I am!" Nitori replied, "But I do not let that take over me. I know there's always next year."

"What if this was your last try?"

Nitori paused before responding, "Then I would be assured that no matter what, win or lose, I tried my absolute best." Sakura gazed at the pool, unsure if she felt the same. There was this block that showed up last time and would undoubtedly happen again. "Cold feet, Sakura-senpai?"

"Please, just Sakura." She stated, "And I'm just worried that I'll just disappoint everyone again."

"Sakura," He placed an arm on her shoulder, "You are so headstrong and I've only seen you swim with impressive speed. Do not worry."

"It's different in this pool." Sakura reasoned, "It feels like home."

"It's not the pool." Nitori shook his head, "It's the water. You feel at home in the water."

Sakura continued staring, narrowing her eyes in this realization. Usually, to befriend water and talk about it like this was the reason why Sakura worried about Haruka. But now, it actually made sense. Like, she was born to swim in the water.

"Thanks, Ai-chan." Sakura teased, gaining a blushing boy. She playfully punched his shoulder before going to crouch down next to the pool, feeling the water slip between her fingers.

The water was a second home.

She swam and it swam with her, hugging her sides and offering her a place to be when in distress. It was a home that offered solace when nothing else did.

 **XXXXXXXXX**

To see Seijuro, the flirty stranger, and Momo, her excitable friend, side-by-side, was quite the sight. The bouchou gave a small pep-talk and gave a rough nuggie to his younger brother. And to Rin's growing displeasure, both Mikoshiba's were pinning for Gou's attention throughout the day. Seijuro, of course, flirted a little with her too. But it was all in good jest.

"I can't wait to see you swim." He winked, golden eyes reflected in the sun.

"Good. I bet you can't resist these legs." Sakura teased back, but before he could respond she was being dragged by Rin into the stands. Seijuro laughed at the display, it was like a shark hovering around its prey.

Eventually, the events started and Momo and Takuya were the first two in the pool. Momo was exclaiming over to Iwatobi, trying to gain a certain girl's attention. Shouta and Toru scoffed at his attempted, but were surprised when Seijuro challenged the orange-haired boy to win over Gou with his abilities. Shouta face-palmed, Momo was not trying to be an _ass,_ just blindly affected by love.

Momo was able to swim to his heart's content, aiming to win Gou over with his winning stroke. He was able to move onto regionals.

"Did you see my true power, Nii-chan?!" Momo yelled, "Do you think Gou will be dreaming about me tonight?"

"She'll be dreaming about you alright. You as her brother-in-law!" Seijuro exclaimed back, gaining more bantering. Rin and Sousuke were impressed with the first-year, his first competition and already not too far behind Makoto, a third-year.

Sakura could sympathize with Takuya's loss. He was going to be kicked out of the relay.

Nitori was giving Nagisa something to worry about in the breaststroke, but in the final fifty meters Nagisa was able to unleash his true power and gain speed against Ai. Many members of Samezuka were still complimenting the second-year, compared to last year Ai had progressed very well.

Men's butterfly came and gone. Both Rei and Rin were moving onto regionals. Rin? Oh, he casually got first place overall compared to literally every other butterfly swimmer present. Nothing big, not like he was the best butterfly swimmer in the area.

This, albeit not on purpose, formed more pressure in the pits of Sakura's stomach.

Sakura was stretching, ready to take her place. There was not a single racer she could recognize. She refused to look at the stands. To her left, she would see wide-eyed Iwatobians anxious for the race to start. Nagisia offering moral support through yelling her name. To her right, Samezuka was ready to cheer on their only female teammate. All of her friends' eyes were on her.

The first whistle blew and Sakura readied up.

 **Go!**

Even if this was not her primary swim-style, Sakura was not going to use that as an excuse. She remembered the teachings of Sousuke and Rin and used her gymnastic flexibility to glide above the water. Sousuke had this natural ability, which made him a ranked swimmer in the entire country. To have him as a mentor, Sakura felt blessed. The turn came and the smooth dolphin kicks necessary was natural to her.

The overwhelming support from both Iwatobi and Samezuka was spurning her on. She could not fail, not again. How would she face the looks on both her friends and family? Sakura was swimming harder than before, channeling her inner-strength. Before the minute was over, Sakura and the one next to her slapped against the wall.

Lane 1 - Karasuno High _(3rd)_

Lane 2 - Sano High School _(4th)_

Lane 3 - Aobajōsai high _(2nd)_

Lane 4 - Samezuka Academy _(1st)_

Wait.

What.

The board quickly changed and suddenly her name was displayed as sixth overall.

Sakura was heaving, unable to fully process how extreme that race was. It brought this crazy adrenaline that coursed through her and it was still pulsing through her veins.

"Damn, I've never seen you before." The girl in the lane next to her commented. Sakura looked to see that she represented Aobajōsai and won second place. "I'm Hana, a third-year."

"Sakura, a second-year." She responded while the other girl climbed out of the pool. Hana offered a hand, which she willingly took.

"That was so close." She said between her heavy-breathes, the two walking towards the changing rooms. Sakura was still trying to register exactly what was happening. The shouts of praise by her friends went ignored, the girl still trying to claim her bearings.

"One more second and I would have given you a real run for your money. How come I've never seen you? What school do you go to?" Hana asked.

"I just started Samezuka this year."

"What? That's an all-boys swimming school."

"I'm an exception." Sakura replied, not willing to give a longer explanation.

"Wow. It's like Samezuka breeds amazing butterfly swimmers. That pretty Matsuoka kid and now you." Hana joked.

"You have no idea how surprised I am." Sakura muttered, but it was too low for the other girl to hear. "Sousuke-senpai trained me the most." She raised her voice.

"Yamazaki-san is on your team too?" Hana asked, gaining a nod. "That is so unfair!" She kidded some more. "Well, you might be a fast swimmer but we'll see for your stamina. See you in the 200m." Hana stated before waving good-bye.

"I'm not competing in that…" But the reply fell on deaf ears since the swimmer was already down the hall and going to the changing area.

Commentators and spectators were not surprised, since all they noted was the label _Samezuka._ It was a powerhouse school for swimming and anything less than first place would be an actual surprise. To them, Sakura was another nameless swimmer from a swimming school. But there was so much more.

Sakura was still unable to fully understand what just happened. With no one around, Sakura stood and massaged her shoulders, unsure when they gained such capabilities. Sousuke was definitely not an easy teacher, not one to sugar coat his honest ridicule. Rin was also blunt when it came to swimming. But in no way was Sakura focused on butterfly. How on earth was their training enough?

Seeing the Sakura standing limply in the hall, Momo ran and jumped onto the girl. "You were so amazing Sakura-chan! How come you swim free? Why don't you focus on butterfly?"

"Momo! Get the hell over here." Rin yelled from down the hall, causing the boy to release your arm.

Momo followed after his captain while Sakura ran back into the changing room. Most of the occupants were gone and Sakura easily slipped into her track pants and Samezuka jacket, still trying to comprehend how and why that race happened.

Rin was waiting outside for her, leaning against the opposite wall with his face pointed to the side. "So. Was all this talk of freestyle just to catch us off guard with your butterfly?"

"No." Sakura croaked out, "I don't know what that was."

Rin threw an arm around her shoulder, sensing her inner distress. He guided her down the hall and presumably to where Samezuka was, "What do you mean?"

"I swam butterfly simply because I needed something other than freestyle. Something like a safety in case I messed up. To win it against people who care more about it, it doesn't feel right."

Rin looked away, pausing before replying, "Maybe those people did not train hard enough."

"And I of all people deserve it?" Sakura asked, "This doesn't feel right."

It was _butterfly._ Not free.

Rin grabbed her shoulders in both hands, halting their movements to look each other in the face. "Why are you so amazed that you're a good swimmer?"

"Because this isn't what I trained for!"

"And you still don't get it." Rin explained, "It's not about training. It's about being in the water and loving what you do."

Sakura paused before backing away, leaving Rin to drop his arms to his sides. All this talk of water and its importance, it was always in the back of her mind. Haruka's rambling suddenly seemed to make sense. She just loved the water. Someone who loves what they do as opposed to someone forcing themselves to be better, there will always be a gap.

After such a long silence, "Thanks, sharky." Sakura said. Gaining a small kick on her side and his arm returning to its position slung across her shoulders.

"Well now, we can be the butterfly power couple."

Unable to stop herself before the words came out, Sakura asked, "What are we?" Sure, it was blunt question, but it was honest.

Rin blushed before sputtering out, "Don't be an idiot." And poked her harshly on the forehead.

 _What the hell does that mean?!_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** I watched a single episode of Haikyuu and now I'm hooked LOL. two season's worth of episodes killed in less than a week.

* * *

In the afternoon, the freestyle events were all that was left for the first day. Rin was trying to pass off his cool exterior, but Sakura knew that he was anxious for his race against Haruka. The Samezuka team was sitting outside beneath a tree, enjoying a nice picnic to commemorate their wins so far.

"You'll get 'em next year, Nitori-kun!" Momo was encouraging his saddened upperclassman, patting the boy on the back while enjoying a sandwich. "But we'll definitely destroy them tomorrow!"

Sakura's confidence was bursting, but she knew not to let it be her downfall. Trying to take a breather, she walked away from her team to wander the halls of the stadium. There was an assortment of differently colored track suits and Sakura thanked her lucky stars that her father was fashionable enough to choose a sleek black and red combo. Just looking at the orange and brown combo was enough to make her shudder at the fashion catastrophe. Seeing the familiar white/sky blue jacket and mop of light brown-hair, Sakura playfully shoved Makoto to congratulate his recent win.

The man put on a damn good show and Sakura was gladly surprised at how much passion he put into his backstroke. The only problem?

It was not Makoto.

She was greeted by surprised hazel eyes, instead of the familiar light green she was expecting. Sakura was dumbstruck. Now that she had a clear look at the man in front of her, it was obvious that this stranger's hair was an entirely different shade than her friend's. Not to mention his ends had a slight wave to them while Makoto's were clearly straightened.

He gave her a smile – _a plastic one, she inwardly noted –_ and gave her a once over. "Not who you expected?"

"Sorry, it's just your jacket is very familiar to Iwatobi's." Sakura replied, offering her apology before trying to walk away. However, he was much faster and grabbed her elbow before she could get too far.

"Not so fast, I think you owe me a favor." He flirtatiously winked, but held her steadily in place. The rest of his team was around the corner and Sakura inwardly berated herself for getting trapped in this situation. This was obviously not Iwatobi. For one, this school had about five times more members and that really should have been her first warning.

Biting her lip to stop the growing grimace and possible insult, she asked, "What do you want?"

The stranger dropped her elbow to rest his hands at his sides. His eyes narrowed, slight enough that would usually go unnoticed, but Sakura could feel the gaze of his scrutiny. "Ready to fight, already?" He stated his observation, "Sorry, but a pink-haired girl just punched me and I would like to at least know her name."

Ashamed at her rudeness, Sakura looked down to the side and offered, "Sato Sakura."

"What a fitting name." He crossed his arms, smirking slightly. "I don't think a girl has ever disliked me this much this fast."

Sakura mustered up the fakest smile she could conceive, "Sorry, I don't deal well with players."

"No need to grace your face with such a look." He used his index fingers to turn her lips back to a frown, "I prefer a real sentiment, even if it's a frown."

Sakura fully turned to look at him, not quite fond of being under this stranger's inspection. She decided to direct his words back and responded, "Maybe you should apply that to yourself."

His smile was tight for a second before turning into a complete straight line, "How observant of you." He noted. A smaller hand rooted itself on his shoulder and a familiar face appeared, to Sakura's delight.

"Sorry, is Assykawa bothering you?" Hana asked, signaling that this was in fact the tracksuit colors of Aobajōsai high.

Sakura could not withhold the laugh and replied, "Your name is Assykawa?" She had to put a hand on her stomach, "I feel like I would remember seeing a name like that on the board."

He shrugged Hana off and sighed deeply, "No, it's Oikawa Toru. And I'm not a swimmer."

Hana only pushed him to the side, butting completely into the conversation, "We come from a powerhouse school so the sports teams like to support each other. Assykawa here is a volleyball something and they're going to some inter-high camp next week or some shit," She trailed off.

"Excuse you!" Oikawa held a hand to his chest, offended at his beloved sport being insulted. "I'm a very highly regarded setter."

"Oh really? How was nationals last year?" Hana asked through narrowed eyes.

Oikawa scoffed and crossed his arms, "I don't know. What's it like to not go to regionals during your third-year?"

Hana grit her teeth before putting her arms in a similar fashion, "I went to nationals last year. I didn't _need_ to again." He continued in his look of derision and was about to say something until she beat him to it. "Anyway, how could you be hiding this girl from me, Assykawa? How do you two know even know each other?" Hana asked, causing Sakura to squirm at having to explain the awkward situation.

Toru to the rescue, ironically, and he interjected saying, "I saw her beat your ass in the water and wanted to get to know her."

Hana had an abashed look, but waved it off quickly to point at Sakura. "I'll see you four heats from now. You may be fast but no one has stamina like mine in the 200m."

"I'm not swimming any other butterfly events." Sakura commented in a low voice, gaining an astonished look from the girl and an amused one from the inferred asshole.

"Why not?"

"I swim free." Sakura gave a sheepish grin and noticed her first mentor walking in her direction, the literal moment she said that.

 _I should've known! Those three words basically summon the god of water, Haru._

"It looks like my friend is calling me, whoops." Sakura waved at the two and basically ran away from her current conversation, only offering a goodbye wave. She latched onto Haru's arm and steered him down the hall.

Hana and Toru watched her retreating figure, but the woman quickly changed her view to whip around at her underclassman. "I know that look, Assykawa."

"Like what?" He innocently asked, but knew what she was going to say.

"Like you're a starved lion and just saw a piece of meat walking by." Oikawa simply shrugged his shoulders and followed in Sakura's direction.

Hana stopped him with her words, "Don't you dare. She seems cool and I definitely like her. You have tons of girls fawning over you at school, go to one of them. Why her?"

"Because she isn't a fangirl." Oikawa stated as if it was plain as day.

Hana grabbed his wrist, almost angry. "This is not a challenge. You need to back-off, I won't let you break her heart."

Oikawa slowly closed and reopened his eyes, one could interpret as sarcastically, but Hana knew that was his signal of frustration. It was rare of the volleyball player to break face, he was always acting so cool. But now, he was already huffing and puffing.

"How are you so sure I will?" Oikawa threw over his shoulder before following after the girl.

Unbeknownst to Sakura, who was sneezing-up a storm, moved her grasp from Haru's elbow to his shoulders. She had yet to say a word and Haru already looked exasperated.

"Do I want to know?" The man asked, sighing at the possible upcoming story.

"Nah." Sakura replied, letting go as they turned the corner. "How about next time, we have a butterfly race?" Haru gave her the most stoic, apathetic look he could possibly compose. She laughed at the response, knowing the answer before the question was even voiced.

"Is it possible that Haru only swims free, since he doesn't know how to do the other strokes?" Sakura teased.

He shoved her to the other side of the hall.

 **XXXXXX**

Seeing Makoto race against Haruka was almost heart-breaking, almost like watching your parents go through a divorce. Their faces displayed anything but happiness, which what everyone should have been feeling for moving onto regionals.

Sakura cringed at Makoto's use of full power, was he even pacing himself? He was already turning the corner with all the competition far behind. She knew of Makoto's pure heart and wondered if he had always been secretly holding back to make way for his best friend.

Rin voiced his own observation, but they both saw the slight slowing in Makoto's pace. Sakura wondered if he was truly getting tired or personally hindering himself from beating Haru. Sakura couldn't bring herself to look at the two and walked back to the changing rooms to calm her heart.

Women's 400m freestyle was after Rin's race, and no matter the outcome she was sure it would make her even more stressed. Rin and Haru were eons ahead of her in terms of both skill and strategy and seeing the two of them go faster than her limit would only churn her stomach.

By the time Sakura was donned only in bathing suit and cap, Haru and Rin's race had already began and the two were on their way back. The difference was only by a few milliseconds and Sakura inwardly berated herself for walking back so soon.

Her event was called after and Sakura was rooted to her place. The other competitors were already pushing past her to their designated places and Sakura could feel the edges of panic seep into her very core.

The light push on her back was enough for Sakura to gasp in surprise, already on edge. "What are you waiting for?" Sousuke asked with a smile. "You're more than ready." And, knowing this was not enough, Sousuke switched into his limited English to say, "Stop worrying, idiot."

This seemed to be the magic word to get Sakura back on track, causing her to smirk and reply saying, "You should spend less time with Rin, his lack of vocabulary is rubbing off on you."

Blushing at her accusation, Sousuke poked her face and then steered her in the direction of the pool. Halfway to her stand, Sakura turned around to yell, "I'm fine now you big doof, just let me go!" Sousuke allowed the loud, vocal berating, since it seemed to get Sakura out of her nervous stupor. She gave him a playful shove away and he continued back to his seat.

Rin was back in the stands, with Haru this time, and stopped his mutual praising to watch the exchange between the two Samezuka students. _Why was Sousuke even with her?_

Sakura examined her opponents, yet again, not a single person she could recognize.

She repeated this three more times throughout the day, placing well enough to go to regionals. But her most outstanding performance, that she was not at all being humble about, was her first place overall in the 100m.

She nearly climbed out of the water screaming, unbelieving that she accomplished such a feat. Her joyful shouts were, however, drowned out by the sheer loudness of the cheers from her schoolmates. The run to the changing room had never felt so right, but the butterflies in her stomach had transformed to ravaging wasps from her excitement.

The very moment she left the women's area, her team was awaiting her with their own, personal ways of praise. Sousuke enveloped her in a hug while Momo nearly tackled her, but none of these were as monumental as Rin's flicking her on the forehead. Sakura exclaimed immediately, _why do you keep doing that, you masochist?!_

Nagisa grabbed her, while on opposite teams, he offered her a plethora of compliments. Haru gave an acknowledging nod, but he still had a whisk of that all familiar smirk.

"Think I pose a challenge now, fishboy?"

Haru's smirk only deepened and replied with a _Maybe._ Makoto patted her back and before he could add anything, Momo intervened, "Too bad, she's ours." The group laughed as Momo grabbed Sakura to pull her away.

Rin only shook his head at their antics. His team, no matter how idiotic, was growing the closeness and absolute teamwork that he seemed to be wishing for at the beginning of the schoolyear. Sousuke grabbed Momo off her shoulder before Rin exacted his vengeance, not wanting to witness murder.

Seeing her now free bodice, Rin splayed a relaxed arm across Sakura's shoulders. Not letting him go easy, she decided it was time to tease him, "Since I am the best freestyle swimmer for women in the area," She started, "I think that means I'm better than you."

Rin ruffled her hair as the group walked towards their busing, "He beat me by milliseconds. You'll see tomorrow."

As they loaded the bus, it was then that Sakura realized she forgot something. She lightly pushed Rin's arm off to quickly run back and look for her belonging. The changing room was scattered with a few other stragglers, but the area she occupied earlier was empty.

Her phone was still in the locker, vibrating away from missed calls and messages. Sakura had way too much on her mind, keeping her cell-phone away for the entire day. The screen lit up and she scrolled down to the first message that she missed.

It was from her step-father.

 _To: Sakura_

 _From: Crazy-man_

 _9430_

 _Wishing you all the luck today! Sorry I couldn't make it!_

She dropped her phone instantly.

He was always reveling in her disappointments, always there for when she failed. He flew all the way from Japan to California to watch her cry on the sidelines, relishing in her utter failure. But the one day that Sakura could truly rejoice over her own skill, he did not even bother to show up. There were tons of pressures that were building up for today, one of the most prominent being her father. But it seemed like she worried for nothing. Fail or win, he was not there to witness it.

It was a defensive reflex, Sakura would defend. Whenever someone brought up her step-father in conversation, Sakura would always voice her assumption that he was constantly disappointed in her. It was only natural, since he did not seem to indicate otherwise. But now, it was fully proven.

He didn't give a damn about her.

She could not stop the tears that followed and how painful her stomach felt. Letting out a loud, exasperated cry, Sakura dropped to the floor. The boys wouldn't mind if she took a few minutes, but there was simply no reprieve from the onslaught of dark emotions.

The two other girls in the locker room gasped in horror and were unsure if to approach Sakura or keep going on their way. Both decided to get help for the stranger.

Before a minute could pass, arms were lifting her off the floor and into awaiting arms. "Are you hurt?" Her savior was unexpected, that flirty stranger from earlier in the day.

"How did you know I was here?"

Oikawa paused before using a light-hearted joke, "It sounded like you were getting stabbed from the outside." He gave a small smile before turning serious, "My schoolmate just ran out here basically screaming. There's only one girl from Samezuka, so it wasn't hard to go from there."

Sakura smiled at him before burying herself into his chest. He sat them on an empty bench and basically wrenched her arms away from her face. "I saw your team packing up. You don't want to worry them with your red face, right?" She understood his words and stopped rubbing.

"You probably don't want to talk about this with a stranger," He said and held her for a few more minutes before lifting her in the direction of the sinks. Dosing her face lightly with water and gently patting her dry, Oikawa smiled yet again at her natural beauty. "Here," he handed over the paper-towel, "You probably want a moment to yourself."

Oikawa walked back over to the lockers and picked up Sakura's phone. Putting his own number for future reference, he held it firmly until she was ready to leave. The only evidence of her previous tears was Oikawa personal memory of seeing her crestfallen face. Otherwise, she looked like a, albeit sopping wet, ordinary woman.

"Here you go." He handed the phone over, "Stay safe." He gave her a half-hug and left the room first.

Sakura had enough of her emotional health going haywire. In a matter of minutes she went from an emotional high to an extreme low. And it did not help that she enlisted the help of a mere stranger to comfort her. Placing an unsure hand on her forehead, Sakura looked down at her phone to see if she missed any other messages.

Not paying attention to her surroundings, Sakura left the changing room with her concentration focused on the object in her hands. Said object was snatched by her angry captain.

"Who the hell was that guy?"

Unsure of how much Rin saw, Sakura replied, "Toru Oikawa, he's a womanizer."

"And why was he in the girl's locker room?"

"I think I just answered your question." Sakura bit back, trying not to break Rin's gaze.

"Then why did he leave first? Why are you two the last ones left?" Rin did not skip a beat and instead switched their positions. Rin encased Sakura in his arms against the wall, nowhere to run away. "Don't lie to me. There was a very worried Aobajōsai student who was yelling about a crying pink-haired girl."

Knowing there was no other way to escape an explanation, Sakura lifted the hand that had commandeered her phone. While still in his tight grasp, she was able to open the text and show him the object of her tears.

She watched his eyes move with every word, his hand on the wall slipping to rest around her waist. "I'm sorry." He finally stated, holding her fully into a comforting hug. "But you should've came to me first. Stop showing other people your tears."

"Okay." Sakura conceded.

"Sousuke's my best friend, but not even him, okay?"

"Okay." She sniffled and tightly wound her arms around his neck. He allowed the action, keeping one hand frim on her waist while the other was scrolling through her messages from her father. The one Sakura showed him was just the first one, with lots of other missed messages from her father.

 _I'm watching you on tv, so awesome!_

 _Good luck in your afternoon swims!_

 _I never knew you swam so fast! I'm so proud of you!_

Rin opted to not say anything about the other messages, she'll see them in time, he assumed. "Come on, everyone's waiting for us." He tugged at her hand. Sakura felt a blush oncoming, her boys hugged her all the time. But holding hands? Somehow that felt more intimate.

This did not go unnoticed by the other members of Samezuka, gaining a wolf-whistle from the back and a sly smirk from Sousuke. Momo silently pouted, but at this point Rin had all but peed all over her to mark Sakura as his. The couple sat together in the front, sitting in a comfortable silence throughout the journey back home with a habitual glance at one another.

Sakura rested her head against her – boyfriend? No. her _something –_ and Rin, in response, placed his arm back around her waist. Her shirt rid-up a tiny bit, exposing a minimal amount of accidental skin. However, this skin-on-skin contact was enough to have the two blushing.

Her phone vibrated, signaling a text:

 _It's me, Oikawa! See you tomorrow, chibi-san._

Rin did not conceal his peering over her head and almost burst into flames from anger. "He has your phone number?" Sakura could not help but feel her heart swell, Rin was definitely the jealous type. But it showed how much he cared.

"So?" She tucked the phone away, not bothering to respond, "You have my heart."

She snuggled into his chest and he had no response for her. Simply basking in each other's presence, Rin could not help the growing smile.


End file.
